


Of Gods and Vampires

by HelAuditore



Series: You and me, be running up that hill. [1]
Category: Being Human (UK), The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Blood, Blood Drinking, Cheating, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Humor, M/M, Oral Sex, References to Drug Use, Violence, there also will be some Anders/Helen, there will be some Ty/Mitchell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-31
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 13:41:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 83,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/824916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelAuditore/pseuds/HelAuditore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They may be different worlds, those of Norse Gods and Vampires, but they have some things in common: Secrecy and anonymity. And what happens when these two worlds come together? John Mitchell and Anders Johnson might have the answers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Why do you wanna leave Bristol? Why flee the country like this? You have everything you need here, lad." the ginger vampire sitting across from Mitchell ran his fingers through his hair, blue eyes beaming with danger as they met chocolate brown eyes.

"Why the hell not? I need a fresh start, I might come back or I might not." Mitchell shrugged, dark curls swaying gently behind his ears.

"But you will be alone, out there. Believe me you don't wanna be without us." Herrick gestured casually around his empty office, then added "Without me." he tilted his head slightly, a sly smirk curling his thin lips.

Mitchell smirked in return, his thick brows raising before he spoke "I can look out for myself. And I am pretty sure I will find other vampires wherever I'll decide to go."

Herrick snickered "Oh, I am sure you will but... You know, no one can assure you that they'll be as friendly as I am." he shrugged, pursing his lips as he spread his arms.

"Yeah, then I got nothing to fear." Mitchell huffed, amused.

Herrick wasn't exactly one to be called a friend.

"Remember Mitchell, I will find you... And I will bring you back if needed." Herrick threatened, leaning his hands over the antique desk he was sitting at.

The dark-haired vampire sitting across from him pushed out his lower lip "I don't see why you should. You have plenty of good people to rely on, haven't you?" that being said Mitchell rose from his seat.

"Be safe out there, Mitchell, for it's a cold and scary world without me." the ginger vampire grinned evilly.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll end up crying and calling you in the dead of the night!" the younger vampire frowned, teasing him. "Bye Herrick." he licked his lips and flashed his maker a smirk before he left the room.

He didn't look back on his way out, he just wore his sunglasses and went back to his car, started up the engine and drove to the airport.

It had been quite an hard decision, but he had thought about it for a long time and he knew that a new beginning was the right thing to do if he wanted to be – and stay – clean. He had too many memories in England, anyway, so he might as well just leave the country, hell he even wanted to leave Europe.

He had bought a ticket to Auckland, New Zealand, he didn't know why but it had seemed like a good idea.

He didn't know much about Kiwi vampires, but he was sure that once he got there he would eventually get to know something about them, and of course he was probably going to meet some. He didn't want to get involved with them, though, if he wanted to  _embrace humanity_ and give up his bloodthirsty side, he needed to stay away from other vampires.

The flight had been exhausting, no matter all the comforts, there were just so many hours he could bear to spend on an airplane and that journey seemed neverending. He had also started craving so bad for a cigarette that he had to force himself to sleep before he could snap badly at anyone. A hostess had offered him an electronic cigarette, at one point, and Mitchell found himself to be sucking steam out of a piece of plastic.

Great.

He had proceeded to go back to sleep, because not having a  _real_  cigarette to keep himself occupied with was going to trigger something dark inside him, and the last thing he needed was slaughtering all his fellow passengers along with the crew.

He nearly couldn't believe it when he finally stepped out of that plane and everything seemed just so perfect. He sucked in a deep breath and even the air that filled his lungs smelled and felt amazing. He couldn't really help a big grin to spread on his lips.

He needed a ride and he also needed to find a cheap hotel to stay until he'd find a real place to dwell. He knew he should have probably looked for it before actually getting to Auckland, but the need to get away from Bristol – and its vampire community - had been too strong to waste time on finding a flat.

He grabbed a coffee on his way out of the airport and smoked half of a cigarette before rushing to the first bus he could find that was headed downtown.

He was having a good feeling about all that, and who knew... He could even find love in Auckland, he could find the much needed pillar of strength to succeed on his purpose. He grinned at that thought and looked out of the window.

When he got off the bus he dragged his bags with him and headed to the nearest wall, he leaned his back against it and finally lit up a cigarette. He let his eyes fall shut when he took the first puff of tobacco, moaning softly when he felt it filling his lungs. Gosh, he had really needed that.

"Man, I'd give a kidney to be the one who pulls that kinda sounds out of your throat."  
Mitchell suddenly perked up, nearly choking on the smoke when he heard a voice.

He wasn't a prude, he certainly wasn't a pervert and if he had been in the past it was all because of the  _hunger,_ but then again, being addressed with something like that didn't happen quite often to him, especially not from men.

Once the coughing fit was over, Mitchell looked at the guy who was smirking up at him "S-sorry, what?" he smiled unsure, brows raising as he stared at the shorter man in front of him.

The blond, pale blue-eyed stranger was holding an unlit cigarette between his lips "Your moan, the one you made just now while smoking..." he nodded, cigarette quivering between pink lips as he spoke "That's not something one hears often. And I'd be a liar if I said that I wouldn't wanna be the one to pull it out of you." he stated again, and apparently the vampire hadn't gone deaf yet.

The brunet blinked, admiring the confidence of the man and for a few moments he didn't exactly know what to say.

He had had a couple of homosexual experience in his life, hell even Herrick had made this kind of innuendos more than it was necessary, and probably he didn't remember quite perfectly, but he was pretty sure that something had happened with him, too. The thought made him shudder in disgust, not because he had sex with a man but because Herrick disgusted him.

"So, are you going to give me a light, please? Or..." the blond had pulled the cigarette away from his lips to speak, now.

Mitchell blinked and just handed over the lighter "Do you normally say such things when you need a light?" he couldn't help but ask with a smirk.

"Only if the person is worth it." the stranger lit up the cigarette, took in a deep drag of tobacco and then exhaled the smoke slowly through his thin lips. "Thanks, mate." he flashed the vampire yet another crooked smirk and then returned him the lighter.

Mitchell made sure to push it back into his pocket without staring too curiously at the stranger.

"Tourist?" the blond asked, tilting his head as he took in the few bags scattered at the taller guy's feet.

Mitchell scowled and blinked "I actually just moved here." he nodded, a pink tongue running between his sort of chapped lips. He didn't even know why he was telling him that, it was probably because he was unconsciously starting to embrace humanity and be social, already.

"I was hoping to hear this answer." the man sucked his lower lip in and then released it with a pop "Do you have a place to stay, already?" he asked before sucking on his cigarette.

The vampire stared at him for a moment and then shrugged, taking a drag of tobacco himself and making sure not to moan this time "Actually no, I was looking for a hotel and then I'll start flat  _and_  job hunting." he exhaled the smoke through the crook of his lips and he swore he saw the man bite his lower lip, when he did.

"Forget the hotel, you should definitely come to my place." he said boldly, a mischievous smirk curled his thin lips as he took another puff.

Mitchell widened his eyes and cocked a brow "Serious?"

"As a heart attack." the man nodded slowly.

"You don't even know my name, you don't know me." Mitchell scoffed and shrugged "Why would you let me stay at your place?"

The blond took his time to breathe in a big drag of tobacco, then exhaled it slowly in pale gray coils of smoke "Maybe because I wanna get to know you." he grinned, mirroring the vampire's raised brow.

The brunet shook his head with a small chuckle "Sorry but I don't think it's a good idea." he did give him a polite smile, though.

The blond furrowed his brows and looked seriously taken aback "Oh..." he blinked and then licked his lips, taking a last drag from his cigarette before throwing it away "Well, if you change your mind or... Just need help," he fished for one of his business cards into the inner pocket of his jacket and handed it to the vampire "please do call me."

Mitchell hesitated for a moment but then took the card from the man "Okay..." he blinked.

"See you." the blond winked and walked past him, not even waiting for an answer.

The vampire just stood there, still trying to process what had just happened.

That was definitely the last thing he expected to happen during the first hours of his arrival in Auckland. He just shrugged and examined the card in his hand "JPR – Johnson Public Relations, by Anders Johnson." he read out loud, then looked at the phone numbers written at the bottom. Mitchell sighed and pulled his wallet out of his pocket, opened it and slid the card into it, it was only when he saw his pounds that he realized that, shit, he had to change his money, too. He shut the wallet and stuffed it back down his pocket before he finally decided to look for the damn hotel.

* * *

Anders was completely unfocused at work, he wasn't even listening to Dawn as she blabbed about customers, meetings and phone calls he needed to make. He kept staring down at his desk, blankly, torturing his lower lip with his teeth.

"Anders, are you even listening to me?" the girl scoffed.

The man looked up at her and smiled "Dawn, love, you'll have to do without me for today." he stood up and straightened his purple shirt.

The PA widened her eyes and shook her head "No, no, no no, you can't leave me to it. There are people you need to see and phone calls to make, it has to be you, not me!" she cried out. The girl knew too well that her boss was definitely going to convince her, as usual, but still she needed to at least try and put some sense in his head.

The man placed his hands over the girl's shoulders and spoke softly to her "You'll do just fine, you're the best. You're even better than me. I know that you'll find a way to call off the meetings and make those phone calls on my behalf."

Dawn blinked and a smile spread slowly on her lips "Y-yeah... Of course I will." she nodded.

"You're amazing, Dawn." he leaned in and pressed a kiss on the corner of her lips.

The girl blinked and then watched Anders pull on his jacket on his way out.

Well, his powers still seemed to be working, at least on Dawn, so what the hell had happened with the guy he had met that morning? He was Bragi, the god of poetry, there was just no way he wasn't able to woo an attractive guy.

He pulled his phone out of the pocket of his jacket and searched for Olaf's number, starting the call as he unlocked his SUV.

" _Yeah?_ "

"Grandpa, I think we need to meet." Anders said as soon as he heard the oracle's voice, he buckled himself in the meantime.

" _Well I might be kinda busy, right now._ "

"Stop screwing whoever you are screwing and meet me at the bar." it wasn't a request, it was a clear order.

" _Bollocks._ " his grandfather sighed " _Alright, see you in uh... Twenty?_ "

"Make it ten." Anders ended the call and casually threw his phone on the passenger's seat as he started up the engine and drove to his brother's bar.

"You used your power on this guy... And it didn't work?" Olaf looked at his nephew with narrowed eyes.

Anders huffed "That's what I just told you, grandpa!"

Olaf exchanged a look with Mike who was washing a couple of glasses.

"Maybe you're losing your  _touch_." Mike shrugged "Maybe being a cock has finally led you to lose your powers." he smirked.

"You're so funny Mike, I think I just pulled something because you just made me laugh so hard." Anders glared a hole in his skull.

"Maybe you should just lose the beard." Olaf licked his lips and snickered.

"Fucksake, can we be serious for a moment?" Anders furrowed his brows and automatically scratched his hairy chin.

"That's rich coming from you." Mike raised his brows and nodded.

Anders groaned and got off from the stool he was sitting "Why have I even bothered to ask for your help?" he spread his arms and started walking towards the exit.

"C'mon! We were just messing with you, Anders!" Olaf grabbed him by his arm and yanked him back towards the stool "Sit down."

Mike laughed and shook his head as he served his brother and grandfather two pints of beer.

"Let's see, your powers are supposed to bend mortals to your every will." the oracle wrapped his fingers around the glass in front of him.

Mike had furrowed his brows and folded his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, exactly. That means both men and women. I pulled guys before." Anders shrugged.

"So you're telling us that you're gay?" Olaf widened his eyes "I thought you were completely pussy-whipped."

"Fucking hell..." Anders ground his teeth and flared his nostrils, looking away.

Mike bursted out laughing and shook his head "Grandpa, let's not piss him off more than necessary."

"Alright, alright." Olaf chuckled "Sorry. Uh. So maybe... This guy isn't mortal. Maybe he's a god, too." he raised his brows.

Both Anders and Mike widened his eyes.

"But I thought all gods were supposed to be here in New Zealand, he definitely sounded Irish, plus he has just moved to Auckland." Anders cocked a brow as he provided more details on Mitchell.

"Maybe there are exceptions that we're not aware of?" Mike raised his brows, he knew that it was impossible, but he tried anyway.

"No, that's unlikely." Olaf shook his head and took a big gulp of ale as he thought.

"We agree that he's not human, though. Or else my powers  _would_  work on him." Anders thumbed at the condensation on the glass of beer.

"Maybe he is human, but you should have tried your powers harder on him." Olaf shrugged.

Mike scowled "Is that even possible? I mean... That you didn't use your powers right on him?"

"Bullshit, it's not like I need to regulate the intensity of my powers... What the hell?" Anders scoffed and rolled his eyes, he definitely needed a large swing of beer.

"Then you need to try again, see him and use your powers." the oracle said as soon as he had gulped down half of his beer.

"Yeah, that's the only option." Mike nodded and poured himself half a pint.

"Guess I'll have to stalk him." the blond huffed and took another sip of ale.

"Now instead of calling people you stalk them? Did you lose your brain in Norway or something?" his brother furrowed his brows at him.

"I don't have his number." Anders muttered and quickly covered his face by drinking the whole pint of beer he was holding.

"What a moron!" Olaf let his eyes drop shut and threw his head back.

"Shut up, grandpa. I've got it under control. I have my methods, I'm going to find him, no matter what." this time when the blond got off the stool no one stopped him.

"By stalking him?" Mike placed his empty glass into the sink and leaned his hands on the bar.

"Such an unpoetical way to see this." Anders scrunched his face as he fixed his jacket.

"There's hardly anything poetical about you." his brother raised his brows.

"Screw you, Mike." the blond scoffed and left the bar.

He wasn't exactly going to stalk him.

Or yeah, he was.

Whatever, it wasn't any of Olaf's or Mike's business.

Anders went home to get ready to spend the evening out. He was going to raid the pubs around the area where he had met the mysterious guy and eventually he would to find him.

Supposing that the guy had really decided to go out, that night...

* * *

It took him at least two hours to find a decent hotel with affordable prices, it wasn't even too far from a bus stop, so that he would be able to move around the city easily.

He had decided to eat some Chinese take-away in the comfort of his hotel room, zapping through TV channels but not really watching anything. His mind was still wandering over the weird encounter from earlier in the day, he had liked the confidence in the man, even if he had tried too hard. He huffed with laughter as he recalled being offered to stay at Anders', that was definitely one hell of an extreme way to woo someone. He smirked to himself, realizing that he hadn't exactly hated what had happened, no matter the weirdness.

He suddenly put down the box of noodles he was holding and grabbed the wallet from the night stand, he opened it and pulled the business card out of it. He turned it in his hand, staring at the numbers and chewing nervously on his lower lip.

No, it was too soon to call him.

He shook his head and buried the card back through the bills, tossing the wallet on the bed as he went back to eat and watch the telly.

At one point he figured that no matter how tired he was from the journey, going out would have done good to him, even if he wasn't exactly keen on having to drink alone.

Surely if the Kiwi population was at least half as friendly as Mr Johnson, then he could be sure that he would have probably ended up drinking in company.

A warm shower worked miracles on his tensed and tired muscles, even soothed the ghost of a headache that had started bothering him. He stepped out of the tub, careful not to slip, and grabbed the bigger towel from the rack. He avoided looking at himself in the mirror out of habit, it had been more than a hundred years since he had been able to see his reflection, but he had got pretty good at ignoring mirrors. He rubbed his skin dry and used the smaller towel to dry some water away from his wild curls, there was nothing he could or wanted to do about them, so he just ran gel coated fingers through them a couple of times and that was it.

He wore black tight pants that he stuffed into his old combat boots, one of his flannel shirts and once he had pulled on his leather coat he was good to go.

He walked down the two flight of stairs and stalked out of the hotel after bidding the receptionist good evening. Of course the first thing he did was lighting up a cigarette, as he stood in front of the entrance of the hotel, looking from side to side as he decided which way he was going to head. He remembered walking past a pub, earlier that day, so he figured that taking right was the only option. He walked slowly, taking his time to savor the tobacco in his mouth, to enjoy the chilly air of the night that was falling upon him. He took in the lights of the street, people were starting to fill up restaurants, clubs and bars, and Mitchell felt like he could definitely belong there. Or at least he hoped so.

He stopped in front of a thick wooden door that sported a  _'We are open'_  sign right in the middle and waited outside to finish off the fag. Four guys walked in before him and a couple walked out, holding hands and sharing a quick kiss before they made their way down the sidewalk. Mitchell sucked in the last drag of tobacco and then flicked the butt away before pushing the door open and walked inside the pub. The smell of ale and food surrounded him deliciously, along with a pleasant heat. A few heads turned in his direction as he walked up to the bar, he didn't really pay attention to them, not even to the blond man who was too busy having a flirtatious conversation with two lesbians.

Mitchell sat on a stool and rested his hands on the scraped wooden surface of the counter "Uh, a pint of beer, please?" he ran his fingers through his sticky hair and then waited for his booze as he looked down at his rings.

As soon as a huge glass of ale was set right under his nose a girl with long, wavy fair hair sat on the stool beside him.

"Hiya." she chirped, lashes batting as her knee pressed against Mitchell's.

The vampire arched a brow and turned to look at her, a smile appearing on his lips "Hey there."

"How come a cute guy like you is drinking here all alone?" she asked tilting her head slightly, her big earrings tingling at the sudden movement.

Mitchell had already opened his mouth to answer, but a familiar voice anticipated him.

"Perhaps he was waiting for someone, sunshine." Anders smirked crookedly at Mitchell's shocked expression. "You may wanna join the nice, chatty group of gorgeous ladies over there?" he pointed at the table he had just left, and his powers left no choice to the girl who just nodded and walked away with a smile.

Anders took her place on the stool beside Mitchell and bit his lower lip "Hi." he grinned.

The vampire couldn't help but laugh "You gotta be shitting me." he shook his head.

"No one's shitting you, I just happen to be very lucky today." he shrugged "Or maybe you are the lucky one." he suggested.

The brunet dropped his head at his words "Right." he wasn't going to stop smiling soon, apparently. "I think you're stalking me." he raised his head and nodded.

The blond had already ordered a beer when he turned back to look at Mitchell "My office just happens to be a couple of blocks away from here?"

Mitchell tilted his chin up "Is that so? And you worked 'til this very hour?" he furrowed his brows and took a large sip of beer.

Anders thanked the bartender as he wrapped his fingers around a cold glass "I had a business dinner nearby and I thought it would be a good idea to swing by." he wasn't exactly lying, except for the fact that he wouldn't normally go to a pub.

"Shut up, you look too elegant to casually come in this kinda place." Mitchell teased him as he took another swig of alcohol.

Anders laughed, the vampire had already figured the type of person that he was "That's kinda racist, just be glad that I'm here to keep you very good company." he arched a brow and smirked.

"Yeah, by shooing a potential shag away from me." Mitchell joked, his thumb playing with his rings.

The blond pointed at himself pronto "Problem immediately solved." he was still trying really hard to get his powers to work, but it was just unbelievably useless with the brunet.

"Right, silly me." the vampire smirked and then offered the blond his hand "I'm Mitchell, by the way."

"Anders." he shook Mitchell's cold hand and for a moment it felt a little like it belonged to his brother Ty. He tried really hard not to scowl.

"Or so your business card says." the brunet teased.

"So you didn't throw it away the moment I left." Anders moved his hand back on the glass, a pleased smile curving his lips.

"I was going to..." he lied with a nod of his head, then broke into a smirk "But then I thought that I could always use a PR."

"You never know, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

They both smiled.

Time swept by between a beer and a vodka, a scotch and a  _'Please don't tell me you've never had an Irish Coffee, you need one, mate!'._ They had moved from the counter to a table, so that they could get a little more privacy without the bartender constantly shooting glances at them.

"That's brave, you know? What you did." Anders narrowed his eyes at Mitchell, and for some reasons – being drunk as hell – the vampire imitated him.

"What? Getting another shot of Jagermeister?" the brunet smiled goofily, his brain was starting to definitely fail him.

The blond bursted out laughing and slammed his hand onto the table "What the fuck, Mitch? I-I meant... Oh god the Jager shot." he shook his head as he kept laughing.

Mitchell threw his head back as he laughed himself.

"N-no, I meant" a stray tear streamed down Anders' left eye "moving here to start a new life! It's fucking brave." he nodded, genuinely impressed.

"Wait, you got uh-" Mitchell pursed his lips and reached out for the blond's face to wipe away the tear.

Anders' jaw slacked slightly at that contact "Seriously, we should take this conversation to my bedroom." the blond slurred with a smirk and a final nod of the head.

Then everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The brunet gulped as he stared at Anders with hooded eyes, hunger suddenly kicking in. He could hear the man's heartbeat drumming loud and violent into his ears. His hand started shaking and he quickly drew it back, he would have loved to spent the rest of his drunken night in Anders' bed, but he would have ended up killing him.

"No, I-I'm sorry. I'm gonna head back to the hotel, it's been a long... Stressful day." he nodded and fished for some money in his wallet.

"What?! Why? I thought we were having a good time!" the blond cried out.

That was frustrating, why the hell couldn't he just convince Mitchell to sleep with him? Something was definitely up with the guy.

"I just... I can't stay here any longer, sorry." the brunet couldn't do anything to hide the panic in his voice. He didn't want to listen to Anders' heartbeat, he didn't want to hear the sound of Anders' blood rushing through his veins.

The blond grabbed him by his wrist, eyebrows raising as he realized that Mitchell still needed to do one last thing before he left. "Your number, give me that at least!"

Mitchell shook Anders' hand off, freeing himself from the grip, too scared to snap and sink his teeth into his flesh in that very moment. "I'll text you, I promise."

With those final words the vampire fled the pub as fast as he could, leaving Anders to stare speechless at the money scattered over the table.


	2. Chapter 2

Anders had waited for that God forsaken text, yet two days after that night at the pub his phone had only been bombed with useless calls, most of them from Mike, which he didn't feel like answering.

For two nights in a row he had gone to the same pub, but Mitchell never walked through the door. He was definitely starting not only to  _feel_  like a stalker, he was actually  _becoming_ one.

He felt like he was going insane, and he knew that he should have probably talked to his relatives about all that, but he could already imagine them laughing their arses off at him.

Most of all, he was still trying to figure out why the brunet was shielded from his powers and what had freaked him out so badly, that night, that made him run away from the pub like he did.

That was seriously odd.

Dawn was staring at him, he could feel her eyes burning on him but he didn't look up at her.

"You really need to get up from that couch and go to the meeting with out new client." she sighed frustrated, she was sick of watching him lay on the sofa as if he was about to die or something.

"Who, the cookie guy?" Anders let his eyes drop shut, his voice lazily finding its way out of his lips.

"Yeah, Mr Davies." Dawn rolled her eyes, how could he be so uninterested in his own business?

"Yeah, whatever. I need a drink, I think I'll hit a bar." he sat up and pressed his hands on the couch to lever himself up.

"Anders, you're going to lose everything, I am not joking." she glared at him "We barely have any clients left, after you've been smart enough to shut down the company for a month, and now that you-" she widened her eyes when she saw her boss pulling the front door open "Anders!" she yelled, then buried her face in her hands with a groan.

Anders had no choice but to meet up with Olaf and Mike, even though he would have gladly avoided seeing their faces.

When he arrived at the bar the only person to be seen was the oracle, slouching on a chair as he sucked in long drags of weed.

"Anders! My gay grandson! Come here, hug me!" he grinned widely "No homo, of course."

The blond immediately turned on his heels and left the bar, slamming the door behind his back in the process. He was about to storm back to his SUV when he bumped into his brother Mike "Shit!"

"I've been calling you for two fucking days! Was it so hard to pick up the fucking phone?" his brother barked.

"What for? Being called the gayest god in the Norse Pantheon?" Anders glared at him "I've been busy rooting as many chicks I could take, phone calls distract you from shagging, you know?" he tried to walk past him, but Mike grabbed him by his arm.  
Olaf came out of the bar at the same moment, the butt of the joint being flicked away as soon as he stepped on the sidewalk. "You're pretty fucking touchy, eh?"

"You would be too if everyone called you a fag  _and_  you couldn't use your powers on just one person! It's driving me nuts!" Anders groaned, throwing his head back.

Mike frowned "So you met him again..."

"Yeah, I did." the blond folded his arms across his chest.

"Okay, privacy." his brother and grandfather dragged him back into the bar and Mike actually locked the door.

"Oh, so it has a key, after all!" Anders teased as he walked behind the bar to fetch a bottle of scotch, Olaf was already pouring himself a glass of vodka.

"I think we need you a little more sober than usual, grandpa." Anders arched a brow at the oracle.

"Balls." Olaf rolled his eyes and poured the vodka back into the bottle, spilling some all over the counter as he did so.

Mike shook his head "So... You met mystery man-" he started, but he was quickly cut off by Anders.

"Mitchell."

"Oh, good, we have a name." his brother narrowed his eyes at him "Wait a minute, you actually remembered his name?"

Even Anders had to admit to himself that that was quite rare, he usually couldn't remember names yet the name  _Mitchell_  was branded into his brain.

"Woah, I think it's a sign!" Olaf sniggered and the other two gods stared at him "What?" he scowled.

"A sign like... A prophecy sign? An omen?" Mike flared his nostrils.

"Oh no, I don't like being involved in prophecies." Anders sighed and rolled his eyes as he bent over the counter, forehead pressed against the wooden surface.

"Be not alarmed! I am not sure yet, but..." Olaf smirked "Don't you get it? I mean, this guy is clearly shielded by your powers, this means that if he falls for you it would be because of you, not your powers." Olaf arched a brow, the smirk from before developing into a grin as he nodded.

"Well that is challenging, I mean... How many times have you pulled someone without your powers?" Mike was both impressed and intrigued by his grandfather's explanation, plus he couldn't wait to piss his brother off.

The blond straightened himself back up and glared at his relatives "Fuck the pair of you." he spat and downed a big gulp of scotch, making a face when he felt it burning down his throat and stomach.

"No! You don't get it! There could be an actual purpose for this! Maybe he really has a reason for stepping into your life, maybe he is part of the bigger picture!" Olaf insisted, trying to be as convincing as possible.

"I thought we already agreed that he's not a god." Anders frowned, sipping from his glass.

"But he certainly is something else..." the oracle raised his brows "I should, you know... Sniff him."

Anders bursted out laughing "Who's the gay god, now?"

Olaf glared at him "Seriously, I might find out what race he belongs to if I smell him."

The blond blinked as he stared at his grandfather "This is exactly why I told you that I needed you to be sober."

Mike rolled his eyes "Why are you so stupid? It's actually possible to do so."

"Yeah?" Anders glanced at his brothers with raised eyebrows "Then what do I smell like? What does Bragi smell like?" he teased and set the empty glass into the sink before resting his hands on his hips.

"Like cock." Olaf answered quickly right before his vision blacked out and he fell off the stool backwards.

"Christ, Anders! You asshole!" Mike rushed to tend to their grandfather.

"Fucking sick of all these smart-ass answers." Anders muttered as he massaged his aching knuckles. "I'll see you again whenever you two are done with your stupid innuendos." that being said he left the bar, furious.

* * *

Mitchell should have texted him, he knew it, but after what had happened at the pub he thought that it still wasn't safe for him to get that close to anyone, not yet. He had focused on more important things such as changing his mobile phone plan, dealing with the opening of a bank account and the most difficult tasks: finding a job and a flat.

It was a real pain, for a vampire, having to roam the city in the sunlight.

He had to shield his skin from the burning rays with jackets, hats and shades, but at least having to go out took his mind off of other things.

He couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about the possibility of Herrick showing up in Auckland to drag him back to their nest and use him as a murder-machine; the hunger that could start tormenting him if he let his guard down around humans; the random flashbacks of all the innocent people he had killed to feed, because he could clearly remember the confusion on their faces at first, as they couldn't understand what was exactly going to happen, then the utter horror and terror when they realized that they were about to die; And then  _him_ , Anders, and the fact that he would never have wanted to see the same fear in his pale blue eyes.

He was sitting in a McDonald's, sipping on a watered cola as he stared down at Anders' business card, still struggling with the want to text him and the fear of possibly attacking him.

"What the hell." he shook his head and pulled his mobile out of his pocket, he dialed Anders' number and saved it.

Mitchell chewed nervously on the straw before actually finding the courage to open a new text and starting to type:

_'Still alive,_

_bet you know how girls feel when you never call them the morning after, now._

_Mitchell'_

He smirked at his own text and put the phone down on the table. He pulled a blue sharpie and a newspaper out of his backpack, skipped all the news and focused on the last few pages where all the job ads were. He uncapped the sharpie with his teeth, brows furrowing as he carefully scanned the offers. His idea was to find a low-profile job, one that wouldn't draw too much attention on him, that didn't involve too much contact with people and  _of course_  something that would keep him away from the sunlight.

Suddenly his phone vibrated and he jumped in his seat slightly, not expecting the sudden noise.

Mitchell bit his lower lip as he proceeded to read Anders' reply.

_'Boy, you know me too well. I'm gonna pick you up right now no matter where you are.'_

As straight forward as he could be.

Mitchell hadn't seen that coming.

The vampire felt a familiar quiver in the pit of his stomach, but he forced himself to believe that it was only the bad coke he had been drinking.

_'Can't do, job hunting. Maybe some other time.'_

He hesitated for a moment, but then pressed send.

Mitchell sucked in a deep breath and then went back to the ads, hoping that Anders wouldn't answer too quickly.

Bartender: definitely a no-no, no matter how much he liked to deal with booze.  
Baby sitter: yeah right.  
Dog sitter: still better than dealing with humans, but that would actually mean going out in the sunlight.  
Baker: if only he knew how to knead bread.

The phone vibrated again.

_'Do you know the actual meaning of "no matter what"? Where the hell are you?'_

"You impatient fuck." Mitchell grinned and shook his head.

_'McDonald's the one on Queen Street'_

The brunet still thought that it was a bad idea, but he just couldn't help himself. He was lonely, after all, and also bored out of his mind. He only went back to the ads because he needed to do something while he waited for a reply from Anders. His eyes dropped on a job offer as a cleaner in the local hospital, it was both low-profile and sunlight free.

"Score." he circled the ad with the sharpie and then went to finish off his now lukewarm, watered coke.

Anders didn't text back.

* * *

Mitchell had texted him, he even had a hard time believing that it was actually him, so he had to stare at the message for several moments before he finally replied to it.

After the little fight with Olaf and Mikkel, Anders had gone back to his office, soothing Dawn's anger as soon as he had walked back into the room. He knew that all hell was going to break loose now that he had stood up from his chair and put on his jacket all over again.

"Lunch break, Dawn, you are free to go, too. Don't wait for me later, though, I'm busy." he said quickly, leaving the office before his assistant could actually say something.

When he got into his SUV to pick up Mitchell on Queen St, the whole thing about the brunet being a part of the bigger picture in the godly world started buzzing in his head.

What if Mitchell was a Celtic god?

He was Irish, after all, and maybe there were reincarnations of every possible Pantheon walking the earth, and the Johnsons just weren't aware of it – well, no wonders with an oracle like Olaf -. The idea seemed legit and he was definitely going to tell his grandfather about it, maybe with a drink in their hands and smoking some weed as an apology for the punch – even if he didn't regret it at all -, or maybe he was just going to try and take Mitchell to the bar and let the others take a look.

He was still lost in his thoughts when he realized that he had driven past the McDonald's, so he stopped the car abruptly and nearly caused a pile-up. People cussed at him loudly from their cars and he just flipped them off before pulling into a free parking spot.

He walked a few feet back to where the fast-food was and pushed the glass door open to get in.

He furrowed his eyebrows as his eyes adjusted to the lack of bright sunlight, he quickly scanned the room and grinned when he spotted Mitchell sitting alone into the farthest corner, he seemed to be quite absorbed in his reading.

Anders stalked up to him and placed his hand over the back of the only free chair by the brunet's table. "Is this seat free?"

Mitchell looked at him, a frown darkening his face and making him look dangerous until he recognized the blond. "Shit, it's you!" the brunet widened his eyes, bursting out laughing "I thought some random guy wanted to sit with me." he explained with that goofy smile of his that made Anders want to pin him up against the nearest wall.

"Nope, it's your favorite PR." he cracked into a grin.

"Because you're the only one I know." Mitchell teased, catching his own tongue between his white teeth.

"Oh, you heart-breaker." Anders shook his head, but he had to admit – as much as he hated it when Mikkel was right – that flirting completely without being able to use his powers was way more intriguing.

Mitchell sniggered "You're standing there because you're waiting to get any taller?" he scrunched up his face "You might wanna take a seat, I hardly see that happening." the vampire really, really loved to tease him.

"Gee, thanks. If you want me to leave just say the word." Anders rolled his eyes but still he didn't sit down.

The brunet shook his head "No, it's okay, you can stay." he bit his lower lip.

"Alright, but we're leaving here. I take it you didn't eat anything, yet?" the blond gestured towards the cup sitting on the table next to the open newspaper.

"Nope, just needed a refreshment." Mitchell shrugged then narrowed his eyes "I am not eating lunch in your bed, though." he failed to bite back a smirk as he said so.

Anders scoffed "But I'd love to lick ice-cream right off your chest. You're no fun."

The brunet made a face, even if he did feel a bothersome heat rushing down his lower stomach "I have a hairy chest, though, do you think it's a good idea?"

The blond smirked "Do I take it as a yes?"

Mitchell laughed softly and shook his head, right before he let his chin drop over his chest and a few curls bounced over his forehead "Nope, it's still a no." he raised his gaze on him, his eyes big, bright and irresistible.

As Anders stared at him his jaw dropped slightly, whatever the brunet was doing with his eyes the blond was nearly completely sure that it was a godly power. Mitchell was probably some sort of god of persuasion, pretty much like he was, well like Bragi. But if he really was the Celtic god of persuasion, would it be really possible for them to co-exist, or just interact like they were doing?

"W-whatever." Anders shrugged "Let's just go eat something, it's on me." he tried one of his most charming smiles on him, and when he saw the other guy snigger and look away he perked up, proud that it still worked even without using his real powers.

Mitchell folded the newspaper more times than it was actually necessary and shoved it inside his backpack along with the sharpie, stood up and threw the strap over his shoulder.

The blond had already grabbed the empty cup to bin it on their way out.

"I was gonna... Throw it away, myself." the vampire furrowed his brows and remembered to at least put on his shades.

"Saved you the stress of recycling." Anders looked back at him with a smirk and led him to his SUV.

Mitchell huffed amused and rolled his eyes, he was starting to like the fact that being around the PR didn't allow him to stop smiling. He stopped abruptly in front of the car, though, eyes widening behind dark lenses when he realized that he needed to get into it with the risk of Anders finding out that he didn't have a reflection.

"You came by car?" his voice broke a little.

"Well you know, my white horses are a little sick, so I left them napping back at my apartment. One sleeps on the couch, the other on my bed. So I had to settle for the SUV, today." Anders smiled politely at him, but when he saw the brunet flaring his nostrils and gritting his teeth he spread his arms "What? You thought I was gonna walk all the way here? I was at work!"

Mitchell sighed "Don't you know any good restaurants that we could reach just... By walking?" he shrugged, he was starting to sound a little more confident but he really was freaking out.

"Mitchell, what's the problem? Do you get carsick or something?" Anders scowled, starting to worry about that peculiar behavior. Even if his eyes were hidden by his sunglasses, the rest of the brunet's expression was the same as two nights before.

Something clicked into Anders' brain, though, and he raised his eyebrows, concern written all over his features. "Or did you have a bad experience in a car?" the blond thought that maybe the poor guy had been raped or something.

Mitchell furrowed his brows at first "What?!" then he realized that maybe playing along with that assumption would save him from having to get in the SUV "U-uh, yeah." he cleared his throat and nodded.

Anders frowned "I am so sorry, Mitch. I really am." he huffed and rubbed his forehead "Let's uh... Let's see what we can find around here, eh?" he pushed his car keys back into his pocket and started walking down the sidewalk with the brunet.

"Thank you." Mitchell smiled softly as he followed him.

He felt really bad all of a sudden for lying and making him feel like an idiot, but it was for the best. Anders wasn't ready to know the truth and maybe he was never going to find it out, if Mitchell decided not to let him in.

They walked quietly side by side for a while, until Anders glanced at him for a moment "Sorry about two nights ago, then. I must have scared you off, I didn't mean to." it was the first time for him to be actually dealing with someone who had been raped, so he felt very uneasy.

Mitchell glanced at him and felt even more horrible for making him feel bad "Oh no, please don't be sorry. It isn't your fault." he frowned and placed his hand on Anders' arm "It's okay." he gave it a light squeeze.

The blond cocked a brow "Okay? You ran like the devil and didn't text me for two days." he shrugged "Hard to think that it is actually okay."

The brunet shook his head "Don't think about it at all, I am a weird, weird person. Weirder than you think. And it's 'cause of my weirdness that I ran away." he tried to reassure him with a soft smile and a nod.

"Alright..." Anders smiled as well.

In that moment he would have wanted to tell him that he could never be as weird as someone who was born in a family of human incarnations of the Norse Gods who were on a quest to fulfill a prophecy. Then he looked down at his own arm and noticed that Mitchell was still holding onto it.

The brunet realized it, too, and quickly moved his hand away, shoving it down his pocket.

It took them another short while to find a restaurant, and when they did Mitchell kindly asked for a table far from the window, Anders didn't say anything about that and he didn't even find it odd.

They had a good time stuffing their stomachs full, talking about their favorite movies, books and music. They found out they had some passions in common, too, like the general hate for stupid vampires movies and books, the love for good old films, the passion for Depeche Mode and the fact that they mostly – and pretty much only – liked the things that people nowadays claim to be  _vintage_.

"They're classics, I mean... I'll never get tired of watching The Munsters!" Mitchell's eyes beamed as he spoke.

Anders sipped his red wine and chuckled "The Munsters, eh? Suits you, goth boy."

"Oh, shut up!" Mitchell sniggered and ate the last spoonful of his chocolate cake.

"I do agree with you, though. Like nothing's going to be better than listening to AC/DC on full blast, no matter how many times the neighbors ask you to turn down your damn music." he smirked.

Mitchell laughed and then nodded "Yes! Never truer words have been spoken." he smiled and pursed his lips, sucking some chocolate off the lower one.

Anders sighed, setting his elbow on the table and resting his chin on the heel of his hand "We should really go back to my apartment and shag our brains out to the tune of Master and Servant, y'know?"

Mitchell's jaw slacked as he listened to him, the familiar heat from before started burning all over again. "Cute." he raised his brows and nodded, a smirk curling his lips.

"I'm serious. And I've had such a boner since you've started speaking about your passions with that accent of yours." Anders went on, the whole rape thing being completely erased from his memory as his brain had been relocated between his legs.

"Do you seriously get laid by being so graphic and blunt?" the brunet scowled and narrowed his eyes.

The blond shrugged "Yeah, it usually does work." he finished off his glass of Pinot and mentally cursed at his powers for being so damn scarce.

"Maybe one day it'll work on me, too." the vampire tossed casually as he poured himself a glass of water.

The PR scoffed "You're gonna be the death of me." he shook his head as he watched the gentle movements of Mitchell's throat as he drank.

The brunet choked on his water at those words, he started coughing violently and tried his best not to spit everywhere.

Anders frowned and leaned forward across the table "Are you okay?"

Mitchell stopped choking and nodded "F-fine! Sure! Just... Water went down the wrong way." he chuckled nervously.

If only Anders knew that he could seriously be the death of him he wouldn't be flirting and joking around with him like that.

"Alright..." Anders blinked but didn't question him any further "Wanna get outta here?"

Mitchell nodded "Sure, but I think I'll head back to the hotel, I gotta make some phone calls and shit." he explained with a roll of his eyes.

"I could keep you company?" Anders dared, a crooked smirk slowly stretching his lips.

Mitchell grinned "Shouldn't you be going back to your office?" he tilted his head slightly.

"I left my assistant in charge."

The vampire huffed, the blond seriously had an answer for everything "You're unbelievable."

"Oh, I know. So can I keep you company?" he insisted with the confidence that Mitchell liked so much.

"Anders... Not yet." he smiled softly and apologized with his eyes.

Anders let out a huge sigh and dropped his head in defeat "Can I see you tonight, at least?"

The brunet chuckled "Maybe tomorrow night." he nodded.

"Oh c'mon! Why keep me waiting until tomorrow?" the blond whined, sounding like a child.

"Because I'm a bad guy." and Mitchell wasn't entirely joking by saying that.

"So am I." Anders wriggled his brows and tentatively moved his hand to lay on top of Mitchell's. "C'mon, my brother owns a bar. We could go there."

The brunet looked down at Anders' hand over his and sucked in a shuddering breath. Self-control, he only needed to keep a hold of his emotions and instincts and everything would have been fine.

"I s'pose a night out won't hurt?" he arched a brow, even if he wasn't exactly convinced.

The blond scrunched his nose and grinned victorious "Yes!" he dared lacing his fingers with Mitchell's and leaned in across the table "I should pick you up, though. Wouldn't want you to wander around Auckland at night." he arched a brow.

The vampire couldn't help but smile and roll his eyes at Anders' enthusiasm, he still didn't think that it was the right thing to do but he accepted anyway.

He missed being around people, he missed having friends and he sure as hell missed the feeling of skin on skin, and the heat that Anders' hand was irradiating him with was incredible. He couldn't help but look down at their intertwined fingers and think that it couldn't be such a bad idea if it felt so bloody right.

"Pick me up?" the brunet sniggered "I'm not a princess, I can look out for myself." he assured him squeezing his fingers softly "Just tell me where and when and I'll be there."

Anders' lips automatically curled into a soft smile when he took in Mitchell's expression and the way he was squeezing his digits. He huffed and rolled his eyes at the brunet's words, though "Why do you have to be like this? It's easier if I just come pick you up!" he insisted.

Mitchell scoffed "Please, Anders? Just gimme some time." he shrugged "I told you I'm weird, that's how I am. Take it or leave it." he raised his brows.

The blond was once again defeated, he sighed and gave Mitchell's hand a quick squeeze before he let go of it "Fine, I'll text you the details after I sort some things out with my brothers." he had already pulled out his phone to text Mikkel and his wallet to pay the pill.

Mitchell scowled and blinked " _Brothers_?" he tilted his head "I thought you said  _brother_. Are you introducing me to the family?" he teased biting his lower lip.

Anders' concentrated expression as he texted Mike cracked into a grin when he looked back at the brunet "Maybe." he went back to stare down at the screen as he typed.

"Will it be fancy dress night?" he sniggered as he cracked his fingers, he still didn't know if he should have been thrilled or worried about all that.

"You look hot no matter what you're wearing." he hit the send button, then glanced over at Mitchell "Hey, it's just some guys in a bar, it'll be fun!" he nudged him with his foot from under the table.

The vampire rolled his eyes "Stop it, flatterer. You just wanna show me around like a prize."

Anders scowled "How could you think that? I never would! I haven't even scored yet!"

They both laughed and Mitchell punched his shoulder softly before they stood up and reached the cashier before they left.

Once they were outside the brunet put his shades on and fixed his jacket, he was glad that the sun was already starting to dim.

Anders lit up a cigarette and licked his lips "I'll text you in an hour, tops. Unlike you." he grinned.

"Fuck you." Mitchell smirked.

"Is that an invitation?" Anders arched a brow.

"Laters, Anders." the brunet sniggered and turned on his heels as he made his way back to the hotel.

"See ya later." the blond smirked as he watched him leave, he took in a deep drag of smoke and then began to walk in the opposite direction, heading back to his SUV.

He was sure that that was going to be an interesting night.


	3. Chapter 3

Anders had always been more than happy with his life, he pretty much had it all. He had money; a successful career – he knew that the company wasn't exactly going that well lately; but he was going to fix that - , a godly power that allowed him to bend people to his every will, when needed; he could woo any beautiful girl – sometimes boy, but he preferred the ladies - ; an expensive phone: a nice flat; a cool car and all of that made Anders the shallow person he was.

Love wasn't something that Anders had ever felt in his life, it was all about the animal attraction, a matter of primal instincts, pheromones, testosterone, and of course a huge amount of narcissism, egoism and egocentrism.

Jumping from one sex partner to the other was his favorite hobby, one-night stands or even a-handful-of-minutes stands were his specialty, with one or more persons at the same time, too. He blamed it a little on him being a god, since gods apparently felt the urge to fornicate way more than mortals, but for Anders it was just an excuse for his personal vices.

He had slowed down a little, though, after his brother Axl had told him that playing around with mortal girls' heart was going to get him in lots of troubles, it could even kill him, one day or another. Axl commanded him, as Odin, to stop the madness until he would have found Frigg and fulfilled the prophecy.

Anders had agreed, but sure as hell he didn't turn into a monk, he still needed to have his fun with those who didn't expect him to become their life partner.

But then Mitchell came along and things were starting to change.

Anders felt the thrill of the hunt, he actually got rejected more than once by the guy, and there was no godly power that could change his mind. He had never felt more alive, even if he had always tried to live every day at its fullest, Mitchell was making everything so much better.

He needed to talk about him with someone who wasn't Mike or Olaf, and the only person he really felt like hanging out with, since he had got back from Norway, was his brother Ty. He knew that he was going to be at the bar later that night, since he wanted his family to meet Mitchell – and possibly figure out something more about him - , but he wanted to talk to Ty in private for a while.

He called him, inviting him over for dinner so that they could go to the bar together, afterwards.

When Ty rang the doorbell Anders had just stepped out of the shower "Comin'!" he shouted as he wrapped a towel around his hips and quickly went to open the door.

"Hello Ice Man!" he grinned when he saw his brother "Get in, it'll only take a moment." he stepped aside to let him in.

"Hey!" Ty smirked softly and walked inside, he had already took off his jacket to hang it on the rack. He watched his brother disappear back into the bathroom and then looked at the kitchen "I thought we were having dinner!" he scowled as he saw that Anders hadn't even set the table, yet.

"We are! Why don't you order some pizza?" Anders yelled out as he rubbed his hair with a towel.

Ty scoffed and rolled his eyes "I can't believe it." he muttered and pulled his cellphone out to order a pizza.

The blond was ready by the time that the delivery boy arrived, so that his brother also had to pay for their dinner.

"Ah, good man." Anders grinned and straightened his purple button-down shirt.

"Fuck you." Ty sighed and set the pizza in the middle of the table that he had set up during his brother's makeover. "I thought we were just meeting with a friend of yours, why do you smell like a prostitute?" he squinted his eyes at the blond.

Anders rolled his eyes "Well... He's a friend, but I might be hoping for something more." he said casually, pulling a couple of beers out of the fridge and handing one to his brother.

The brunet grabbed the bottle and then stared at the older man for a few moments before he finally spoke again "Did you finally find your way out of the closet, Anders?" he blinked.

Anders rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed grunt "Piss off." he uncapped the bottle and swigged at it.

"No but seriously... Why are you taking him to the bar? I mean, can't you just root him like you do with everyone else?" Ty shrugged, not really seeing the point in getting to know someone that Anders would probably use just for one night and then dump the morning after.

"Wait, why is it so chilly in here?" the blond arched a brow at the lowering temperature of his house.

Ty couldn't help it if whenever he got sad or mad his power went off by itself. "Because I just don't like how you treat nice people, and if this guy happens to be nice and you're going to just walk out of his life like nothing-"

Anders cut him off "Whoa, whoa. Would you let me finish?" he scowled "Jeez, do you seriously have this little faith in me?" he shook his head "And I was stupid enough to think that you were the right person to talk to." he muttered into the neck of his beer before he gulped a large swig.

Ty downed some ale himself and then waved his hand in a circular motion "Enlighten me, then. I'm all ears." he shrugged and leaned back against the counter.

"Let's start eating, eh? Or the pizza's gonna suck." Anders took a seat and his brother did too, releasing an impatient sigh.

They both grabbed a slice and the blond started pulling long strings of mozzarella with his teeth.

"Are you done putting off? What is wrong with you?" Ty didn't know whether to be annoyed or just worried by his brother's odd behavior.

Anders sighed and rolled his eyes, taking his time to swallow his food before finally starting to talk "My powers don't work on him, for starters." and that was enough to get his brother's attention.

"What?!" Ty's icy eyes widened "Wait, does this mean he's a god, too?" he added quickly, thick brows furrowing in thought.

The blond shrugged "I don't know, he could be. He definitely isn't human, though, or else I could go full Bragi on his sweet bum and have my way with him." The only response he got was a disgusted scoff that he ignored "So I'm taking him to the bar tonight for two reasons, one being that Olaf needs to meet him to figure out what he is – if that's even possible – and the second one being-"

Ty cut him off again "Wait, wait, wait..." he stared at his brother "So you still haven't... I mean, he turned you down on sex?"

Anders' eyes darkened at his brother's words, and that was enough of a response for Tyrone.

"Oh my God, this is too good to be true!" the brunet clapped his hands together and threw his head back, laughing "Do you want us to get you laid?" he couldn't stop laughing because it was like justice had finally struck Anders.

"What? Fuck no! That's not what I was gonna say!" the blond glared at him and shook his head "Why do I even bother?" he muttered and stuffed his face with pizza.

Ty stopped cackling and looked at his sulking brother with a curious smile "What is it then?"

Anders took his time to chew on his food, leaving the brunet hanging "Nevermind, really. Just eat your damn dinner." he said bitter, washing that stupid smile off his brother's face.

"Mate, you're being so weird!" Ty narrowed his eyes, scanning the blond as he tried to figure out what was going on with him. It was only when Anders ate the second slice of pizza in complete silence that it finally hit him "Don't tell me you're falling for him? Like... Actually falling, like normal people do?" the brunet stared at him in utter shock, as if he had just found out that his whole life had been a lie.

"He's different." Anders shrugged and washed down his food with lots of beer "And I don't know, it's nice being around him. He's..." he shook his head, genuinely not knowing what to say.

"I bet he's different, he's defeated Bragi." Ty bit his lower lip, thick brows raising as he looked at his brother, impressed "This is... One hell of a news." he smiled and took a big bite of pizza.

"Fuck yes." Anders smirked and looked down at nothing in particular, just enjoying the anticipation of the after-dinner.

"But what if you meet Idunn?" Ty furrowed his brows. He didn't meant to be a party pooper, but being gods came with its pains.

Anders cocked a brow, eyes shooting up at his brother "Idunn? As in Bragi's beloved one?"

The brunet frowned "She's your destiny, mate."

The blond grunted, shrugging "Destiny can go fuck itself,  _I_ make my  _own_  destiny." then his grandfather's words came back to his mind and he raised his brows "Olaf said that Mitchell could be part of the bigger picture, that he probably has a reason for stepping into my life." he tried to quote him as best as he could.

"Mitchell?" Ty arched a brow.

"Yeah, that's the guy's name, I forgot to tell." Anders rolled his eyes.

"Wow, you actually remember his name!"

The blond huffed and threw his head back "Stop being so surprised, for fuck's sake!" his voice raising in frustration.

"It's just weird, alright?" Ty spread his arms, raising his voice as well.

"Is there anything not weird about us?" Anders asked tilting his head slightly, his voice reaching an odd high pitch.

"True that." his brother rolled his eyes.

"Point is, if Idunn shows up... We'll see what happens. For now I just wanna focus on Mitchell, see what happens, find out what he really is." Anders licked his lips and shrugged.

"See if you can get him to ride you into oblivion." Ty teased him with a smug smirk.

"Hey, that's something  _I_  would say, not you. You're the depressed god, stop being a smart ass." The blond furrowed his brows even though he really was smirking.

"This is a weird night, unusual things are bound to happen." Ty sniggered.

"Right." Anders scoffed and went back to eat.

* * *

When Mitchell had arrived back to the hotel he couldn't stop having second thoughts about meeting Anders and his brothers, that night.

He kept telling himself that it was too soon and God only knew what could happen to him if he drank too much! He didn't want to lose control and he sure as hell hoped that there weren't any mirrors in that bar.

He had thought about calling a rain check more than once, but he didn't want to disappoint Anders and he would have been a liar if he said that he wasn't dying to see him again.

Once again, the vampire grabbed his cellphone, determined to postpone that sort of  _date_ , but when he read Anders' name on the screen he couldn't do it, so he just tossed his phone somewhere on the bed.

Mitchell sat down on the edge of it, hands scrubbing over his stubble and then running through his curls. He really liked Anders and didn't want to fuck up, but he didn't know if that was actually possible.

He still couldn't believe the way they had clicked, just like that, it rarely happened to him.

Mitchell believed in love, even if the few times he had really thought he had found his special person everything had fallen to pieces. He tried really hard to have a normal, lasting relationship but one way or another nothing really worked out for him.

Sex was a big issue, vampires normally used it as a weapon, they had their fun with their victims and then they would feed on them, no guilt, no regret. But Mitchell had always been different, always been more human than the other vampires, and Herrick had always found his decency to be disgusting.

Mitchell always grieved after killing someone, he hardly ever recruited anyone because he didn't want to pass on the curse, it was better to just die than to live and be a slave of the blood thirst.

The vampire eventually got tired of feeling sorry for himself and angsting over his fear of ripping Anders' throat out, so he started getting ready.

It wasn't fancy dress night, still he knew that Anders was going to be his usual dapper self, and he didn't want to look like a hobo. He decided to wear the tightest pair of black jeans he owned, his worn out combat boots and a burgundy button-down shirt, he left a few buttons open and wore his coat.

He stopped half-way to the bar to eat some dinner, a steak and a beer were all he needed to soothe his growling stomach and nerves as he tried to shake away his thoughts on the worse scenarios that could happen that night.

He needed to be positive, hang on to his humanity, think happy thoughts and just enjoy the good time that he was probably going to have. After all, he was the one who couldn't stop smiling like an idiot, around Anders.

He arrived in front of the bar, cigarette about to die out between his lips, he took a final deep drag then flicked it away. He couldn't see inside, since the door was shut, but he could hear a few people talking and laughing.

Mitchell sucked in a deep breath, ran his fingers through his hair in hope that it would look decent, then finally opened the door to step in.

All eyes were on him as soon as he entered the bar, there were only five persons, but he couldn't tell if some were customers or they were all part of Anders' family. Also, Anders was nowhere to be found, and the vampire definitely hoped that he had entered the right bar.

No matter what, Mitchell put on his best smile and raised a hand as a sign of greeting "Uh, hi! Is this Anders' brother's bar?" he cocked a brow.

The bartender raised his brows and smiled at him "Yes, yes it is! Anders' in the toilet, he should be-" Mike couldn't even finish the sentence that Anders stormed out of the toilet "Oi, stranger!" he grinned at the vampire "Thought you were gonna bail."

Mitchell sniggered "I nearly did." he teased.

Anders scoffed "Fucker." he rolled his eyes, then turned around to take a look at the other people "Guys, this is Mitchell. Mitchell, these are my brothers Mike, Ty and Axl..." he gestured towards them and they all smiled at him, with their 'hellos' and stuff "This is our cousin Olaf." the oracle waved at him "And the skinny bastard over there is Zeb, Axl's friend."

"Hi, there!" Zeb tilted his chin up.

"Hello, yourself." Mitchell smiled.

There was an awkward moment of silence during which Ty just couldn't stop staring at Mitchell with a slacked jaw, luckily enough no one noticed him.

"What are you having, Mitchell? Guinness, perhaps?" Mike cut in, trying to break the ice right away.

The vampire raised his eyebrows and smiled "Sure!" he glanced quickly at Anders who had moved behind his bar to pour himself a glass of scotch "Is my accent that strong?"

"You definitely don't need to dress in green for us to tell where you're from." the blond teased with a crooked grin.

"Shut up." Mitchell sniggered and Mike handed him the beer "Cheers, mate." he swigged at it.

In the meantime, Axl, Olaf and Zeb were standing in a corner, looking as suspicious as ever while they muttered something definitely about Mitchell. The vampire tried to ignore them as he and Anders took a seat by the counter "This place is really nice, by the way." he smiled up at Mike.

"Ta!" he nodded with a grin "I'm pretty proud of it."

"You outghta be!"

The blond nudged Mitchell "Don't compliment him too much, you'll only boost his ego."

"That was the point." Mitchell smirked and bit on his lower lip as he looked at Anders in the eye, his attention got suddenly caught by Ty who was staring at him "Is... Your brother alright?" Mitchell scowled.

Anders arched a brow "Who?" he looked over his own shoulder and tilted his head slightly "Oi, what's wrong with you?"

Ty jumped slightly and blinked "W-what? Sorry... I just..." he shook his head "I'm just tired, it's been a long day."

Anders and Mike exchanged a look, both of them not buying it, then the blond looked at Mitchell "I'll try to find out what's up with him, be right back." he nodded and got off of the stool.

"Sure." the vampire kept his brows furrowed and then glanced at Mike, feeling slightly uneasy.

"What the fuck was that?" Anders asked through gritted teeth.

"There's something about him... I-I can feel it. It's almost like the first time I saw Eva." Ty raised his brows and tried really hard not to stare at the broody guy talking to his oldest brother.

"What? You mean you wanna nail him?" Anders furrowed his brows, taken aback.

"I-I didn't say that! It's just... Dunno, a weird feeling." he raised his hands in a defensive way.

"I thought you were straight and in love with my assistant, so keep it in your pants or I'll rip it off." the blond snarled at him "And look at me when I talk to you!" he grunted, seeing that Ty was looking over at the counter again.

"I am! Just... Jesus look at Olaf!" Ty was nearly whispering now, as he looked over his brother's shoulder.

"What...?" Anders turned around to see their grandfather trying to inhale Mitchell's scent as the poor devil spoke to Mikkel.

"If Mitchell finds out that Olaf's sniffing him, I'm not sure he'll still wanna root you." Ty failed to bite back a snigger and the blond groaned.

"It's great that you're gay now, mate. More chicks for Freki!" Zeb's voice came suddenly out of nowhere and Anders turned to glare a hole in his skull.

"Fuck off, moron." the blond shook his head, then pointed a threatening finger at his youngest brother, who was laughing right beside his friend "And you might be Odin, but I'm still gonna kick your ass."

Axl raised his brows "I'd like to see you try." he folded his arms across his chest with a challenging smirk

Anders just grunted and walked back to Mitchell, clapping a hand on his shoulder as soon as Olaf had stopped sniffing him "Is my brother troubling you?" he asked with a smirk.

Mitchell looked at him and shook his head "Quite the contrary." and yet another time he flashed him that beautiful child-like smile.

Anders shivered softly at the view and jerked his head towards the door "Care to join me for a smoke?"

"Don't mind if I do." Mitchell placed his hands on the counter and slid off the stool, smiling at Mike "I'll be back." he pulled his packet of cigarettes out of his coat.

"I'll be right here." Mikkel smiled and watched the two guys leave the bar to smoke.

Olaf looked at them and raised his brows "You'll never guess what kind of creature he is."

Ty tilted up his chin as he stepped closer "Something dark, innit? I can feel it."

Mike, Axl and Zeb looked from Ty to Olaf, concerned.

"He's no Celtic God." he licked his lips and took his sweet time to create the right suspense "He's a vampire."

Zeb's and Axl's jaws dropped.

"They actually exist?" Mike scowled in disbelief.

"If there are gods, dwarves and giants walking around, do you seriously think that vampires, werewolves and ghosts are just fantasy?" Olaf gave him a disappointed look, as if Mike should know better.

"That makes sense." Ty raised his brows, pursing his lips.

"B-but he looks so nice and calm! I mean... He's dangerous, shouldn't we keep him away from Anders?" Axl's voice was almost a whisper, a desperate one.

Olaf shook his head "He's lapsed, he smells like he hasn't had human blood in a long while."

Zeb raised a brow "Human blood as in  _mortal_  blood?"

Olaf furrowed his brows "Yeah?"

Mike pointed at Zeb "Right! Maybe he wouldn't even drink a god's blood." he spread his arms.

Axl and Olaf clapped "That could be actually true!" the oracle added.

"Yay. I'm the only one who's in danger." Zeb gulped and shivered.

"I'm sure Mitchell wouldn't hurt you." Axl patted his back sympathetically.

"Or maybe you'll take one for the team..."

Mike growled "Grandpa!"

* * *

Mitchell lit his own cigarette and then Anders' "Well you got lots of brothers." he sniggered, exhaling some smoke through the crook of his mouth.

"Yeah. Pain in the arse." Anders smirked and took a deep drag.

"What a twat." Mitchell shook his head "They're nice." he smiled and shrugged.

"More or less." Anders tilted his head from side to side.

"I think Ty hates me or something." Mitchell said in a nasal voice as he let the smoke fill his lungs.

"Nah, he's fine. A bit weird and gloomy, though." Anders shrugged and tried not to think about his brother's attraction to Mitchell.

"Kinda like me, then?" the vampire teased, nudging him with his foot.

"I don't think so." Anders scoffed with raised brows. He paused to take another puff, then squinted his eyes "Have you got any siblings?"

The brunet shook his head and looked down "Nope." he shrugged and looked back up at the blond "Don't really have a family anymore, actually."

Anders raised his eyebrows "Oh. That sucks. Sorry to hear that."

"It's alright, I got used to it." he smiled softly, then tilted his head back to exhale some smoke in grey-blue whirls, watching them twirl up towards the sky.

"How did your hunt go, by the way? Found any interesting job?" Anders tried to change subject as quickly as possible.

It was Mitchell's turn to raise his brows "I did, actually. Yeah." he nodded "Got myself an interview tomorrow morning." he grinned.

"Really?" the blond smirked and shifted closer to him "We should celebrate then." he leaned in as he spoke, pressing his shoulder against the brunet's.

Mitchell scoffed "Let me guess." he furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes as he pretended to be thinking really hard. "At your place, in your bed?" he smirked.

Anders widened his eyes "I think it's a great idea! Let's do it!"

The brunet laughed and shook his head "Too soon, Anders."

The PR pursed his lips and nodded "You're right, we can't skip the first kiss, can we?" he tilted his head "It's important." his voice was barely audible as he leaned in even closer.

The vampire shivered, his jaw slacking slightly as his eyes dropped on Anders' slightly parted lips. He wanted that kiss, he wanted it badly, but he was so scared...

"I-I... I got self-control issues, Anders." he huffed and reared back.

The blond furrowed his brows "It's okay, I like it rough." he shrugged with a crooked smirk.

Mitchell's eyes darkened "I'm serious. It's a bad problem." he bit his lower lip, then went on "I could hurt you."

Anders slid a hand up Mitchell's chest, rubbing at it softly "We'll be careful?" he tilted up his chin as he stared into lustful, chocolate brown eyes.

Mitchell tried to hold back as much as he could but then just shook his head "What the hell." he cupped Anders' face with both hands and finally pulled him into a kiss.

Their lips moved together slowly, at first, then Mitchell tongued Anders' mouth open and soon they found themselves lapping at each other's tongues hungrily. The blond caught Mitchell's tongue between his teeth and sucked at it softly, slowly letting go of it to explore the rest of his mouth with his own tongue. The vampire let out a shuddering breath through his nostrils as he licked the roof of Anders' mouth, his hands gripping tightly at the blond's jacket as he pulled him closer. Anders' right hand slid up the back of the brunet's head, fisting at his dark curls as his tongue wrestled with Mitchell's.

During that scorching hot kiss Mitchell was finally able to inhale Anders' scent. There was something about the way he smelled, and it wasn't the cologne he was wearing, it was something else. It didn't come from his skin, nor his blood, it was like his soul smelled different from every other being he had ever met.

When he finally broke apart from the kiss to catch his breath and gain some more lucidity, it hit him: Anders wasn't human.

"What are you?" Mitchell didn't even realize that those words had actually left his lips.

Anders widened his eyes and reared back, his hand sliding from the brunet's cheek to his shoulder "How do you mean?" he blinked, taken aback.

The vampire bit his lower lip "You're not human." he shook his head and let go of the blond's jacket to hook his fingers around his belt-loops.

Anders stared at him, not knowing if he should deny it or not, but maybe if he told him what he was Mitchell would confess his true nature, too.

The brunet pressed a soft kiss to the blond's lips, gently brushing their noses together before he pulled back again "It's alright, you can tell me... I promise." he nodded slowly, trying to reassure him that everything was going to be alright, no matter what.

Anders let out a shuddering breath when their lips separated again, he was absolutely mesmerized by Mitchell's tenderness. He gulped, gathering up his courage "If I tell you my secret, are you going to tell me yours?" he asked softly.

The vampire's eyes widened "How do you-?"

"If you figured out that I am not human you shouldn't be surprised that I found out you're not, either." Anders flashed him a soft smirk.

Mitchell scoffed and nodded with a smile "Fair enough. But you go first." he licked his lips.

Anders sucked in a deep breath "Fine..." he held both of Mitchell's hands and then looked up at his eyes "My family and I, we're all human reincarnations of Norse Gods." the brunet looked at him like he was taking the piss, so the blond rolled his eyes and let go of his hands "I can't tell you anything if you don't believe me." he grunted.

Mitchell shook his head "No, no, it's not that! It's just... I've never heard of reincarnated gods, so it's a little hard to process." he took Anders' hands back in his, squeezing them a couple times "Go on." he nodded.

The god pursed his lips and then sighed "Okay." he looked down at their hands for a moment and then continued "For some reason, these gods picked New Zealand to rebuild their long lost home, Asgard, so ever since that moment people have been used as vessels by the souls of these gods, whenever they turned 21."

Mitchell furrowed his brows "So you didn't know you were a god until you turned 21?"

"Precisely. Same goes for Mike, Ty, Olaf and Axl." he nodded then quickly added "Olaf isn't our cousin, by the way, he's actually our grandfather... But he's Baldr, the oracle, and every day he regenerates."

The vampire's eyes were open-wide, especially when he told him about Olaf "...So he never ages." that was something they had in common.

"Yep." he nodded "Anyway, our powers aren't that powerful, unfortunately. But there's this prophecy which claims that once the incarnation of Odin – My brother Axl - will find the incarnation of Frigg we all shall receive our full powers and become the real deal." he concluded with a shrug.

"Whoa... That's cool!" Mitchell blinked, still processing the existence of yet other supernatural beings other than vampires and werewolves. Then he cocked a brow "So which god are you?"

Anders smirked "I am Bragi, god of poetry. I bind mortals to my every will with the power of my words."

The brunet couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What the fuck?!" the blond widened his eyes, offended.

"You? A poet?" he kept laughing, bending over and holding his stomach with his hands.

"You're such an asshole!" Anders growled turning bright red and folding his arms across his chest.

"I-I'm so sorry, but... It's funny, admit it!" Mitchell straightened back up and wiped a single tear away from his left eye.

"It really isn't." the god flared his nostrils and looked away.

"Oh c'mon, don't do that." the brunet's laughter had softened into a snigger "I'm sorry I made fun of you." his smile was all teeth as he wrapped his arms around Anders.

"The worst part is that my powers don't even work on you, 'cause you're not human." the blond muttered, still not giving in to the hug.

Mitchell furrowed his brows "Really? Your powers don't work on me?" then he broke the hug and reared back "Wait a minute... You tried to get in my pants by using your powers? So is that all you want from me?" he flared his nostrils, getting hurt all of a sudden.

Anders opened his mouth but at first nothing came out "W-wait, it was like that when I saw you the first time..." he eventually managed to stutter, then he desperately grasped at the vampire's shirt to keep him close "But then I got to know you, and it's not just about sex anymore, I swear." and for the first time he was actually afraid to lose a person that he genuinely cared about.

The brunet looked down at Anders' hand on his shirt, then back up at his pale blue eyes. "Alright..." he breathed out, pressing his forehead against the blond's.

"Good..." he let his eyes fall shut and took a few deep breaths, relaxing. "It's your turn now, though."

Mitchell moaned and pulled back.

"What?" the blond arched a brow.

"I think you're definitely going to run away, if I tell you." the brunet frowned.

"No, I won't." Anders shook his head.

"I'm a living nightmare." Mitchell warned him with raised brows.

"Just tell me?" the blond was starting to worry a little, though.

The brunet licked his lips "I'm... A vampire." he sighed.

Anders just stared at him, unable to say anything.

"Here we go." Mitchell covered his face with both hands, not wanting to see the horror and fear slowly creep into Anders' eyes, but the blond grabbed him by his wrists and pulled his hands away.

"Alright... It's... It's a little worse than what I expected, but hey!" he scoffed "Here we are." he shrugged "Do you feel the need to drink my blood?" he asked serious, and there was no sign of concern on his face.

Mitchell's jaw slacked and his eyes frantically looked everywhere but at Anders' face.

"Mitchell!" he called out to make the vampire snap out of his panic.

The brunet stared at him wide-eyed and shook his head "I don't know. Not now." he blinked and realized that when they shared that passionate kiss he hadn't actually felt the urge to feed on him. He couldn't hear the hammering sound of Anders' heart in his ears, just like he hadn't heard the sound of his blood rushing through his veins, which was odd, but in a very good way.

Anders smiled softly and nodded "Good. You see? It's alright." he soothed him, cupping his right cheek and thumbing at his cheekbone softly.

"But back at the pub..." Mitchell cried out and dropped his head "At the pub I ran away because I wanted to sink my teeth in your neck and drink from you."

The blond gulped and gritted his teeth, but he needed to keep calm if he wanted to keep the vampire calm, too. "You were drunk, though. You had less control over your instincts." he caught Mitchell's chin with his thumb and index and tilted it up, so that he was looking into his eyes again. "What do you think?" he tilted his head.

"I'm scared to hurt you, that's all." he felt his eyes burning as they started watering, his nostrils flaring as he looked away ashamed by his horrible nature.

Anders shook his head "You won't hurt me, I know that." he cupped his other cheek as well and rolled his own tongue over his lower lip "You won't." he shook his head, a lump forming in his throat at the sight of Mitchell's tears streaming down his beautiful face.

The vampire crashed their lips together once again in a desperate kiss, clawing at the back of Anders' jacket as he whimpered into his mouth.

The god returned the kiss with the same intensity, keeping Mitchell so close that his arms became sore. He reared back for a few moments, just the small amount of time he needed to whisper against the vampire's lips "We'll be fine."

Mitchell was still sobbing but he nodded "You can help me, right?" he sniffled a couple times.

Anders licked his own lips and nodded, too "Yes, I'll do my best." the blond hadn't realized that he had started crying, himself.

The vampire sucked in a shuddering deep breath, trying to calm down a little, even if his whole body was shaking "Don't leave me alone tonight, please." he begged him, squeezing his eyes shut as he pressed his forehead against the blond's.

"No I won't, I won't." he shook his head "I'll take you to my place." he tried to soothe him by running his fingers through his unruly curls.

"I'm scared to have sex with you, though... I don't wanna lose control." the brunet's voice broke as he spoke.

"We don't have to do it if you're not ready." Anders pressed a soft kiss to Mitchell's salty lips and tried to wipe away his tears with his thumbs "Let's bid the others goodnight, then we bounce, yeah?"

Mitchell looked aside and nodded, rubbing his face with his hands to dry his tears.

"They're gonna think I treated you so bad that I made you cry." he sniggered softly, trying to pull a smile from the brunet.

"Sorry." and Mitchell did smile as he looked down.

"Don't be." Anders held his hand as he walked inside the bar with the vampire.

* * *

Everyone scowled at the pair who was looking awful with their red, swollen eyes.

"Are you guys alright?!" Mike widened his eyes and stepped out of the counter to walk up to them.

"We're fine, we're fine. Don't worry." Anders stopped him, pressing his left hand against his brother's chest "We just wanted to say goodnight, we're leaving." he nodded.

"Already?" Olaf raised his brows "Bummer."

Zeb let out a relieved sigh, but no one apart Axl noticed.

"Yeah, we're both tired and Mitchell's got a job interview early in the morning. We better hit the hay." the blond pursed his lips with another nod.

Mitchell just smiled, not really knowing what to say or do apart from holding onto Anders' hand for dear life.

"Is that how you call it now, Anders? Being tired?" Olaf teased him with a smirk.

His grandson just rolled his eyes "Goodnight, everyone."

"It's been a pleasure to meet you." eventually the brunet said with the same tired, soft smile from before "Have a goodnight."

A choir of 'goodnight' echoed and the guys turned on their heels to leave the bar.

"What the fuck happened to them?" Axl folded his arms across his chest, looking at each one of the people in the bar.

Mike shook his head "No idea, I just hope everything's alright." he sighed.

"I'm sure it is." Olaf nodded as he clapped a hand on Mike's shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

Axl looked at Zeb "We should get going." he sighed.

"Yeah, let's roll."

They both bid goodnight and left the bar.

Ty just kept quiet, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on with him since he had seen Mitchell.

"Are you gonna go home too, or you wanna sleep on a table?" Mike asked him.

His brother jumped slightly "Yeah, yeah. I'm going. 'Night." he said half-hartedly before he left as well.

"And what the fuck is with him, now?" Mike sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know, I need to sleep." Olaf shrugged, too drunk and sleepy to give a damn.


	4. Chapter 4

The vampire had tried to ignore Anders' widened eyes when he realized that Mitchell didn't appear in any of the mirrors of his car. He sighed and pressed his temple against the window as he looked out of it, watching as the people of the night crowded pubs and clubs. It was still rather early to call it a night, but the brunet wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere but in the calm of Anders' car.

"Hey... How are you feeling?" the blond asked suddenly, placing his hand on the vampire's knee as he drove.

Mitchell's eyebrows rose as he looked down at Anders' hand, his own covering it right away to link their fingers together "Better." he nodded "You?" he tilted his head, his dark eyes studying the blond's concentrated expression as he focused on the road.

"I'm good." he nodded and glanced at him for a moment, smirking "I finally got you to climb into this damn car!" he sniggered.

Mitchell rolled his eyes, smiling "I didn't want you to freak out the moment you wouldn't have seen my reflection in the mirrors." he shrugged

Anders scoffed "You made me believe that someone had raped you." he shook his head "I felt like a total dipshit."

The vampire shrugged "You kinda are, though."

Anders looked at him incredulous "You little shit! Weren't you bawling your eyes out like a minute ago?"

The brunet sniggered "You should feel proud of yourself for making me laugh." he gave the blond's hand a light squeeze.

The blond shook his head "Unbelievable." he moved his hand from Mitchell's knee to turn on the radio, keeping their fingers laced still.

"Is it the radio or a CD?" the vampire asked with a creased brow.

"My iPod, actually." Anders said casually as he set the shuffle mode, then he placed his and Mitchell's hands back where they were.

"Ooh, excuse me, Mr Millionaire!" the brunet teased with an high pitched voice.

Anders chuckled "Don't start." he moved his hand again to turn up the volume, a soft catchy beat eventually filled the car "Oh..." he blinked when he recognized the song "That's funny."

The vampire frowned "What is?" his eyes wandering from the god to the radio.

"Kind of appropriate." he tilted his head, biting his lower lip when Brian Molko's voice surrounded both of them through the speakers.

_'It doesn't hurt me._   
_You wanna feel how it feels?_   
_You wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me?_   
_You wanna hear about the deal I'm making?_   
_You be running up that hill_   
_You and me be running up that hill'_

The first two lines were enough to make Mitchell perk up in his seat as he stared at the flashy blue screen of Anders' radio. Oddly enough he had never heard that song before, even though he enjoyed listening to Placebo every now and then.

_'And if I only could,_   
_Make a deal with God,_   
_And get him to swap our places,_   
_Be running up that road,_   
_Be running up that hill,_   
_Be running up that building._   
_If I only could, oh... '_

Anders' hummed the chorus under his breath, a crooked smirk curving his lips softly as he drummed his right fingers on the wheel. That had to be some kind of a sign, he hadn't chosen the song on purpose, it just came on with the shuffle mode. The blond let his tongue roll between his lips as he thought about Olaf's words all over again.

_'You don't want to hurt me,_   
_But see how deep the bullet lies._   
_Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder.'_

The brunet was shifting into his seat, his fingers clenching perhaps too tightly around Anders' hand. He gulped and glanced over at him, looking at the way in which his lips were twisting.

The blond squeezed Mitchell's knee, his smirk developing into a grin with the anticipation of the following lyrics.

_'There is thunder in our hearts, baby._   
_So much hate for the ones we love?_   
_Tell me, we both matter, don't we?'_

And indeed, Mitchell's heart was hammering inside his chest, so hard that he thought Anders could hear it. "You put it on purpose." he nearly whispered "There's no way it just happened to start playing..." he gulped.

"I swear on my life, I didn't plan it." Anders shook his head slowly as he sang along with Molko.

_'You, be running up that hill  
You and me, be running up that hill'_

Then he glanced at Mitchell for a moment to look at him in the eyes when he sang:

_'You and me won't be unhappy.'_

The vampire bit his lower lip, smiling as he rolled his eyes "Now you're acting more like the God of Poetry." he brought Anders' hand to his lips to kiss it gently.

Anders laughed and winked at him "Told ya."

The brunet raised his eyebrows as he quickly added "It's too bad that you don't sing like a god, though."

The blond freed his hand from Mitchell's grip to slap his shoulder softly.

"Ow!" the vampire cackled.

Anders slid his card key into the slot and unlocked the front door of his flat "Vampires first." he grinned and gestured for Mitchell to step inside.

The brunet rolled his eyes "Is that a nice way to say old people first?" he sniggered at his own joke as he entered the dim light of the apartment.

Anders stepped in after him, flicking the lights on "How old are you, actually?" he furrowed his brows, shutting the door behind his back.

Mitchell turned around to look at him, his tongue rolling across his lower lip "115." he raised his brows.

Anders huffed "Wow..." he blinked and tilted his head as he squinted his eyes at him "You're the hottest old fart I've ever laid my eyes on." he smirked.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" the vampire laughed as he shook his head.

The bad moments from earlier outside the bar seemed to have faded away, already, that was the effect that Anders had on him.

The blond chuckled and wrapped his arms around Mitchell's neck "I wanna kiss this ancient dude once more, may I?" he cocked a brow.

The brunet had encircled Anders' waist with his arms as he towered over him "Stop with the age remarks or I'll leave this place right fucking now." he raised his brows, threatening.

The blond rolled his eyes and nodded "Okay, okay... I'll shut up." he smirked softly before he pressed his lips against the vampire's, his tongue already demanding access to his mouth. Mitchell welcomed Anders' tongue in his mouth with a content hum as his own went to rub against it.

They stood there for several minutes, exchanging a slow, deep kiss, taking their time to savor each other once again. Anders' practiced hands slid underneath Mitchell's coat, over his shoulders, so that he could push it off his arms with a single motion. The vampire helped him peel off his own coat, letting it drop to the floor, then returned him the favor by pulling off the blond's jacket. He broke the kiss shortly after, panting against Anders' lips. He didn't speak, just stared quietly into pale blue eyes, trying to catch his breath, until the blond held his wrist and tugged on it softly.

"Bedroom's this way." Anders cracked into a mischievous smirk as he walked the vampire to his room.

Mitchell sighed "Anders..." he followed him to the bedroom and stared down at the unmade bed that nearly took up the whole room. He was still staring at it, gulping slowly as he thought that it was still too soon and risky for them to get it on with, when he felt Anders' fingers working on the buttons of his shirt. "Oh please, don't do this." he sighed and shut his eyes.

"Well, you're not gonna sleep with your clothes on, right?" the blond leaned in to peck at his lips as he freed the vampire's chest and stomach from the layer of burgundy cotton, leaving it to fall on the floor with a light rustle.

A shaky breath pushed past the brunet's lips as Anders caressed his way from his stomach up to his chest with both hands "You weren't lying about chest hair." the blond teased and leaned in to leave a trail of butterfly kisses across the brunet's chest.

Mitchell shuddered at the contact, it had been a long time since he had shared that kind of intimacy with anyone "Why would I lie about it?" he gulped, trying to stay focused.

Anders laughed against the skin of the vampire's neck "You already lied about being raped." he reminded him once more.

Mitchell scoffed as he tilted his head slightly, giving Anders more access to his neck "Are you ever gonna let it go?" he shivered at the feeling of a warm tongue on the soft, sensitive flesh right behind his earlobe.

"Mm... Nope." the blond caught the brunet's earlobe between his lips and sucked on it slowly.

The vampire moaned, eyes fluttering shut "Anders, stop." he clasped his hands around the god's shoulders to gently push him back.

"Why? Do you feel like sucking my blood?" he asked with a cocked brow.

The vampire sighed "No, but I don't trust myself..." he shrugged, huffing when the blond shoved him onto the bed. He crawled back towards the pillows, then looked down at the messy sheets "Have you had sex here, last night?" he frowned.

Anders slowly stripped down to his boxers "No. But I did have a nice wank, fantasizing about you." he grinned and easily removed Mitchell's unlaced combat boots.

If the brunet hadn't been completely hard 'til then, in that very moment his jeans had definitely got too tight to contain him "Oh yeah?" he gulped, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Mhm." Anders straddled the vampire's lap, his own erection visible as it pressed against the fabric of his blue shorts "I was thinking about your lips, beautifully stretching around my cock as you swallowed it whole." he said in a hot, dirty voice as his hips slowly rolled down against the brunet's.

"You pig." Mitchell's snigger soon turned into a low groan "Please Anders, don't do this, I beg you..." he whined as he looked up at Anders' moonlit face.

The god licked his own dry lips then bent over, his hands resting at either side of Mitchell's head as his lips brushed against the vampire's ear  _"You don't wanna hurt me."_ his singing was nothing more than a whisper.

Mitchell shivered, his brows creasing as his arms went circling around the blond's neck, his lips frantically searching for Anders'. It was just so oddly amazing how the blond could manage to get him all emotional.

The god turned his face to let the vampire capture his lips in a desperate kiss, his tongue moving against the brunet's in perfect sync. Anders placed a hand over Mitchell's chest as they kept kissing, feeling his heart pounding furiously under his palm, he pulled back slightly "Thunder..." he smirked against the vampire's lips.

Mitchell blinked his eyes open, then moved his left hand between his and Anders' chest to feel the god's heartbeat "In both our hearts." his lips curled into a sweet smile as he felt the blond's heart thumping fast into his chest.

"I'll make you snap out of it, if you lose control." Anders ran his fingers through soft, dark curls, trying to reassure and convince the vampire that everything was going to be fine.

The brunet snorted "Yeah, right." he pursed his lips "I don't think you could stop me if I attacked you." he shuddered at the thought.

"I don't think that waiting will change anything, though." the blond pressed, ignoring the warnings.

"You really can't wait to fuck another legendary creature, can you?" a thick eyebrow shot upwards.

The god grinned "A vampire and a god shagging? Man, I bet it's gonna be epic." he didn't even let Mitchell add anything else as his clever fingers quickly unbuttoned the brunet's jeans.

Mitchell rolled his eyes "Yeah, hopefully the vampire won't slice up your jugular." he sighed, but still he arched up his hips to help the blond yank his jeans down.

Anders huffed in frustration "Stop being so fucking negative, Mitch."

The vampire didn't say anything in return because he knew that he was being annoying, but he just couldn't help it.

The god adjusted himself between the brunet's legs "Red, huh?" he smirked, running his fingers along the silhouette of Mitchell's erection, over the red fabric of his tight boxer shorts.

Mitchell's lower stomach quivered at the soft friction, a shaky breath abandoning his lips "Mine are red, yours are blue... We make Superman together." he let out a soft, nervous laugh.

The blond's eyes fluttered shut "I thought you were going to recite one of those stupid 'roses are red, violets are blue' poems, but... You actually managed to come up with something so much worse!" he shook his head as they both broke into laughter.

"Well excuse me if I'm not the god of fucking poetry." Mitchell bit his lower lip as he smirked.

Anders rolled his eyes "Just shut up." he hooked his index to the hem of the vampire's boxers and tugged at it a couple times, teasingly.

Mitchell sucked in a sharp breath, his hard member twitching with anticipation. He could still feel his human side prevailing over the demonic one, it was a very good sign, so far, but it was still too soon to celebrate.

Anders braced himself on his hands, pressing them down onto the mattress at either side of Mitchell's hips, then ducked his head to trace the whole length of the brunet's member with the tip of his tongue.

The vampire sat half-way up to enjoy the show, he allowed a soft groan to leave his throat as the blond took his sweet time to torture him "Fucking tease." he hissed, hips bucking up to meet the movements of Anders' tongue.

The god flashed him a mischievous smirk before he crawled back on top of Mitchell until his hips were resting on the vampire's again.

A disappointed grunt escaped Mitchell's throat "I hate you." he muttered as he felt the god's breath ghosting over his lips.

"You really don't." Anders shook his head, then started grinding his hips down in a frustratingly slow pace. He succeeded in tearing all sorts of moans and sounds from the vampire, and they were so hot that he could feel his own erection leaking pre-come as it rubbed down against Mitchell's.

The brunet placed his hands on the blond's hips, guiding his thrusts as looked up at him with a slacked jaw and hooded eyes. He was still there, he didn't smell blood, nor he could hear the deafening sound of Anders' heartbeat.

The blond ducked his head, allowing his mouth to worship the vampire's neck with kisses, licks and bites. Mitchell's hitched breath and groans were seriously driving him mad, and he knew that they were both longing for more.

"Bite harder!" the brunet growled, his hand sliding up the back of the god's head to take a grip of short golden hair.

Anders sunk his teeth into Mitchell's already abused flesh and sucked hard enough to draw blood. The groan erupting from the vampire's throat was enough to make his member twitch and his lower stomach burn with desire.

Mitchell still couldn't believe that the only hunger he felt was that of Anders' sex, every cell of his body longed to get completely lost into the blond. His fingers dug into the skin of Anders' back, his blunt nails succeeded in scratching it, drawing hoarse moans from the man on top of him. The vampire suddenly sat up, his right arm wrapping around Anders' waist while the fingers of his left hands were still firmly clenched around golden locks. He stopped the blond from tormenting his neck with a sharp tug on his hair, enjoying the cry that abandoned Anders' lips, then crashed their lips together in a rough kiss.

Anders had always been a top with the few boys he had shared his bed with, but Mitchell was something else, maybe it was the vampire in him, but the blond would have been ready to let him top in the blink of an eye. He reluctantly broke the kiss, but for a good reason "C-condoms and lube are in the top drawer." he panted against Mitchell's swollen lips.

The vampire listened to him, wheezing himself, then nodded as he let go of Anders' hair to stretch across the bed and pull the top drawer of the nightstand open. He quickly grabbed the packet of condoms along with an half empty bottle of lube, and reared back not even bothering to push the drawer back shut.

Anders snatched the packet from Mitchell's hands with a smirk, and fished a condom out of it. He put the edge of the wrap between his teeth and ripped it open to pull the rubber out of it.

"Who's topping?" the brunet asked as he looked up at Anders' in the eye.

The god shifted his hips back to pull the vampire's boxers down, finally freeing his erection "Who do you think?" the blond smirked and wrapped his left hand around Mitchell's cock, teasing it with slow strokes.

Mitchell moaned and rested his forehead against Anders', his eyes fluttering shut "Fuckin' hell." he hissed out as his hips churned on their own.

Anders' hand was slick with the brunet's lavish pre-come, and feeling the way his erection was coated with it made using a condom feel like a waste, but he still thought that it was better to use it, so he placed it over Mitchell's throbbing glans and unrolled it down the whole length with a single motion.

Once again, Mitchell captured Anders' mouth in a deep kiss, while the god blindly tried to uncap the bottle of lube. This time it was the brunet's turn to steal something out of the blond's hands "Don't you want me to prep you?" he asked as he nipped at the god's lower lip.

Anders furrowed his brows, he hadn't considered that, but it definitely sounded like the best thing to do "Y-yeah... Didn't think of that." he snickered softly.

Mitchell grinned "That's 'cause you're too eager." he pecked at his lips, then easily flipped them over, still holding the god with his right arm.

Anders huffed as his back hit the mattress and quickly went to peel off his own boxers before Mitchell stopped him. "This is the fun part, leave it to me." the vampire grinned and tossed the small bottle somewhere on the bed. He grabbed the hem of Anders' boxers with both hands and slowly pulled them down, biting his lower lip as the god was finally completely naked under him. The vampire bent over to leave a trail of open-mouthed kisses across Anders' left inner thigh. He stopped to focus on a particular soft spot that had made the blond groan a little louder as he squirmed lightly. He flicked his tongue at it, then started sucking, strangely unaware of the vein that was throbbing right under his mouth. He still wasn't lusting over Anders' blood, yet he instinctively began to suck painfully hard, his teeth sinking a little too violently into the flesh.

Anders' heart started racing with fear, all the arousal gone as panic took over. He grabbed Mitchell's head with both hands, trying to pull him away "M-Mitchell! Stop! You're hurting me!" he cried out.

The vampire snapped out of that sort of passionate trance, rearing back as soon as he heard Anders' cry. He widened his eyes, sitting on his knees as he touched his own lips, even though he knew that he couldn't taste blood in his mouth. "Fuck! Are you okay?" he took the god's head in his hands, genuinely afraid of having hurt him.

Anders' started calming down right away, his eyes fluttered shut as nodded "Y-yes, yes..." he suddenly felt stupid for snapping like that when Mitchell had done him no harm. "Shit, I didn't mean to panic like this!" he covered his face, ashamed.

Mitchell frowned, shaking his head and holding the god tightly in his arms "Don't be sorry. It's normal to be scared of monsters." he sighed and squeezed his eyes shut.

Anders wrapped his arms around Mitchell's neck and sucked in a shuddering breath "You're not a monster. I just thought you were gonna... You know."

The vampire pulled back to look at him with a soft smile "I didn't feel like, though. I was just... Really into it," he rolled his eyes as he added "maybe a little too much."

Anders raised his brows, genuinely impressed "Really?" he smiled softly, then furrowed his brows "Why though? Do I have bad blood?"

Mitchell laughed softly "Maybe it's 'cause you're a god?" he raised a brow, then looked down, a shy smile curving his lips "Or maybe it's 'cause I care about you..." he shrugged.

Anders pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, briefly glancing down as well, before he smirked up at the brunet "I feel special, then."

The vampire grinned "I guess you are." he nodded then looked down between his legs "Listen... Why don't we just sleep? We'll try again tomorrow. We're both tired and I got the interview in the morning." he tilted his head and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment as he spoke.

The blond huffed and rested his forehead against the brunet's chin "I wanna do it, though." he sighed.

"We still got plenty of time." Mitchell hummed into golden hair with a soft smile, then moved his hand to take off the unused condom from his member. It was going to take some time before it softened, but it was better off that way.

"That's never happened to me, I never  _just slept_  without having sex with someone." Anders grunted with a hurt pride.

Mitchell sniggered "It's not the end of the world." he laid down on his side, pulling Anders along with him.

The blond covered them both, then swung a leg over the vampire's hip "Tomorrow we fuck all evening and night, eh?"

The brunet wrapped an arm around Anders' chest and laughed at his words "Alright." he pecked at his lips and let his eyes fall shut.

They were silent for a couple of moments, then Anders spoke up again.

"Mitchell?"

"Yeah?" he answered with his eyes still shut.

"Forget the bloody hotel, just stay here." he said softly, a hand moving up to caress the brunet's chest.

Mitchell's eyes snapped wide open in the darkness of the bedroom "What?!" he cried out.

Anders didn't even flinch and just kept stroking the vampire's chest "You heard the first time, we haven't shagged so your senses are still working perfectly." he nodded with a smug smirk.

The brunet scoffed "Well of course I heard you." he rolled his eyes, even though Anders couldn't probably see him "But I don't think we should rush thing like this, yeah?"

The blond snorted "D'you think I'm the kind of person who'd normally just ask someone to live with them? I'd never let anyone put me on a leash and tell me how to live my life or... How to dress, redecorate my house, how to run my company..." he shrugged "But everything feels completely different with you, you  _are_  different. I also think that... People like us, we should stick together." he slid his hand up to the vampire's cheek as he went on, not giving him a chance to speak "Besides, you could always stay here and still look for a flat, but maybe in the meantime things move on, develop... And you decide that staying here isn't as tragic as we thought."

Mitchell listened thoroughly to every word spoken by Anders, he may not have been using his godly powers but still he was making a good point "No one has ever said such things to and about me, I've always been the one pouring my heart out." he sighed, pausing as he still thought about the sudden request, even if he had kind of seen it coming "I still think that, even though we're both supernatural beings and we probably  _should_  stick together, you'll get bored of me, or you'll end up hating everything about me. I mean, I can get moody and cranky, I'm untidy, I'm always too lazy or tired to do chores, sometimes I don't shower until is really necessary..." he would have kept on talking endlessly if Anders hadn't cut him off.

"You think I never get lazy and don't do chores and stuff? Man, sometimes I don't even shop for food! I can only always seem to remember to buy booze." he sniggered "Dawn helps me out more than she should, actually." he had to admit it, Dawn was his guardian angel.

The brunet furrowed his brows "Who?"

"Right, you don't know her, yet. Dawn is my assistant."

Mitchell smirked "Do you shag her?"

Anders scoffed "Oh, please. Our relationship is strictly professional." he nodded. "I do use my powers on her, but only to... Let's say motivate her to always be the best at her job." he nodded.

"Mm, alright." he pulled the smaller man closer to him and kissed him hard on the lips.

Anders smirked into the kiss and sniggered when they broke apart "Are you jealous?"

Mitchell snorted "Of who?"

"The lady that saves my life on a daily basis?" he teased, nipping at the curve of the vampire's throat.

The brunet's eyes fluttered shut "Well, she's not the one in your bed right now, is she?"

Anders hummed in response, his mouth still too occupied with the brunet's throat and neck.

"Anders... If you let me sleep I'll check out from the hotel right after the interview."

The blond couldn't see his expression, but he could hear the smirk in his voice "Hey, I'm the one who usually blackmails people." he frowned.

Mitchell chuckled softly "Hope you can handle the competition, then."

The god licked his own lips "It'll be fun, I guess." he tucked his head under the vampire's chin and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Bragi." Mitchell grinned.

" 'Night, Dracula."

"Fuck off."

Anders laughed, then slowly drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

It had been nice for Anders to have someone waking up beside him in the morning, for a change, but it had been a challenge to get out of bed and get ready for their duties of the day.

The time they could have used to eat some breakfast had been spent exchanging slow, heated kisses despite the morning breath.

Mitchell had succeeded in breaking away from the blond before they switched to the heavy petting that would have resulted in him missing the interview.

Anders had whined like a child, but the vampire had bolted into the bathroom to get ready and leave the house as soon as he could, turning down the god's offer to give him a lift. It would have taken ages for Anders to get dressed and actually drop him at the hospital.

The blond had ignored a couple of phone calls from Mike while Dawn was listing him all the names of the people that he needed to call or meet as soon as possible, all the problems that their clients had got into and all the things he was supposed to do that day.

"I hear lots and lots of stuff, but the problem is that I won't have time for all this. Not today, at least." Anders shrugged as he cut her off abruptly, he hadn't even listened to every single thing she had said.

"Anders you haven't done much, these days, you know? I usually can bear with this behavior, but this is getting out of hand. You need to focus and get back to work. Meet clients, talk to them, people are getting sick of waiting." the girl snapped, losing her patience.

The god rolled his eyes "I'm dealing with some important personal issues."

His assistant furrowed her brows "What issues?"

Anders shrugged "They're personal, I can't tell you."

Dawn stared at him puzzled for a while, blinking as she tried to figure out whether he was lying or not "Well, is it a health problem? A family problem? I mean, should I be worried?"

The blond pursed his lips and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment "No, nothing to be worried about, really. But still, those are things I need to deal with at all costs. So this evening I won't be at the shop."

The girl scoffed "Alright, but... Try to work at least this morning, will you? Make those phone calls."

Anders stared at her with creased brows for some moments before extending his hand out to her "Fine, hand me those papers with the numbers. I'll make the damn calls." he needed to pass the time, somehow.

Dawn grinned and handed him the folder with all the documents "I'll take care of the e-mails, the appointments and the meetings, making sure that your evening will be free."

Anders smirked up at her as he opened the file "You're an angel." he grabbed his cellphone to text Mitchell, while his assistant went back to her desk, victorious.

_'Are we meeting up for lunch?'_

He pressed send, then finally got to work. It took nearly an hour to get a reply from the vampire.

_'Well of course, but tonight we should celebrate my new job.'_

Anders grinned from ear to ear, happy and proud to know that Mitchell had aced his interview. He still didn't know what job he had actually applied for, but it didn't matter as long as it was going to earn him some money.

_'After sex dinner in bed sounds cool?'_

He was just about to get back to his business phone calls when Olaf, Ty and Mike stepped into his office.

"Hello, brother." Mike's face was that of someone who had just found out that the bartender had spat into his beer.

"Gee, the cavalry. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Anders put the phone down and watched as Dawn and Ty tried to avoid staring at each other for too long. Oh how he loved ex-couples, they were so amusing to him.

Mike glanced briefly at the girl and tilted his head "Private stuff?" he said in a low voice.

Anders rolled his eyes in the back of his skull, then looked at his assistant "Dawn, could you leave us alone for a couple of hours? Go shopping, go eat, get pissed, whatever."

Ty ground his teeth, he always hated the way his brother treated and talked to Dawn, but that wasn't exactly the right time to banter about it.

"Uh... Sure?" she blinked and her eyes wandered over her boss' relatives "I'll be back later." she gathered her stuff and walked over to the door.

Right before she could step out Anders added "Look, I'll call you when you can come back, it'll be easier." he watched her leave then kicked his feet up to rest them over his desk, crossing his ankles "So?" he shrugged, waiting for someone to speak.

Olaf stepped ahead "We're all a little worried about you... Because of Mitchell."

Anders stared at them with a cocked brow "Are you actually trying to talk me into not seeing someone?"

Mike rolled his eyes "It's not that, we just... Worry about uh-"

"Your safety." Olaf nodded slowly, finishing his grandson's sentence.

The blond blinked and spread his arms "Well look at me, still in one piece, walking and talking. What's all the fuss about?"

Ty scowled, cutting in "We know what he is, Anders. He might be really dangerous."

The blond cracked into a grin "Oh. Here we go." he sniggered and shook his head slowly "I know what he is, too."

They all raised their brows, surprised, with an unsynchronized choir of 'Oh'.

"He told me. And he didn't bite me, nor turned me into a living dead blood drinker." he shrugged with an amused smile plastered on his lips.

His relatives still weren't completely convinced about the whole thing.

"I'm not so concerned, because I saw Mitchell and he actually does seem like a good guy, I didn't get any wrong vibe from him." Olaf shrugged as he spoke "But still, his instincts are strong. We need to be sure that he won't attack you."

Anders huffed "Guys, he's more concerned about my safety than you lot. He's constantly reminding me that he's scared to hurt me, but nothing has really happened. He hasn't done me any harm." he shrugged, then arched a brow as he thought "Well, if we ignore the scratches on my back and the huge hickey on my inner thigh, from last night's make out session..."

Mike and Olaf squeezed their eyes shut "We really don't care about your sex life and you know it."

Ty, on the other hand, flared his nostrils and clenched his hands into fists. It only took that small description of what Mitchell did to him in bed for his loins to fire up. He still hadn't talked to Olaf about the things he had felt when he saw the vampire, and he was seriously too scared to find out what they meant. Tyrone knew that he was still in love with Dawn, but just like it had happened with Eva, Mitchell unleashed his most violent primal instincts.

Anders shrugged "Sharing is caring." he flashed them a grin.

Mike ignored him and spread his arms for a moment "Look, we just wanna get to know him better. Make sure he's a person we can trust and so on."

The blond scowled "Do we really have to do this  _'Meet the Johnsons'_ thing? Because it's utter bullshit."

Olaf actually snorted with laughter at his joke, earning a death-glare from his eldest grandson.

"We really have to, yes. Before anything bad happens."

"I've asked him to stay at my place, FYI." Anders tossed in as he shifted in his seat.

Three pairs of wide eyes stared at him in disbelief.

"You did what?!" Ty blinked "Are you really in a committed relationship?"

Anders shrugged "We didn't put a label on it, or anything. I think we're just meant to be together." he licked his lips "I mean, he makes me feel and want things that I've never felt or wanted with anyone else."

Olaf blinked "Interesting." he narrowed his eyes "And intriguing." he scratched his chin slowly.

"What happens if he meets Idunn, though?" and again, Ty had to make it about Bragi's wife.

"Screw motherfucking Idunn!" Anders cried, dropping his feet to the floor with a loud thud.

Mike perked up and looked at Olaf "Well, I guess she'll fall in love with him and... He's going to feel the need to be with her, right?"

The blond rolled his eyes, strangely keeping his mouth shut.

"We all know the story, though. Idunn falls in love with Bragi, he treats her like shit and it ends badly for her." the oracle chanted with a shrug.

Ty gritted his teeth, he was so mad at Anders for always getting everything he wanted, while he could never have anything.

"And gods and goddesses just can't stand to be together, anyway, right?" Anders raised his brows.

"That is so, so true." Olaf nodded as he remembered about his wife and how much of a pain she was.

"Everyone's a winner, then. I don't see the problem." Anders stood up, ready to see them out.

"Come over to the bar later, though." Mike said before the blond could add anything.

"With Mitchell, of course." Ty cut in a little too eagerly, earning himself some funny looks "What? That's the point of us coming here, right?" he tried to cover up.

"Right." Mike was still scowling at him, but then he glanced back at Anders.

"We'll see about that, if we're not too fucked out to still stand." the blond grinned and began to push them towards the door.

"Anders!" his oldest brothers scolded.

"I'll text you, alright? Now fuck off, I have work to do!" Anders pulled the door open and watched them leave, eventually. He went back to his desk to check his phone for texts.

_'It kinda sounds like a plan. I'm checking out from the hotel, catch you later.'_

Anders had to bite his lower lip really hard not to grin too widely.

 

* * *

Everything went smoothly during Mitchell's interview, he had tried to be as focused as possible even if the Kiwi accent still made him want to burst out laughing, and he just couldn't seem to stop thinking about Anders for more than twenty seconds. He still managed to look completely interest in the job, humble, but also as charming as it was needed to convince Mrs Rhodes that he definitely deserved the open spot.

After he aced the interview, the brunet had gone to grab some coffee, since the lack of caffeine in his system was seriously killing him.

He was stirring his macchiato when his cellphone buzzed with a text "About time." he muttered as he drew the mobile out of his pocket.

_'Don't leave after you check out, I'll pick you up.'_

Mitchell smirked and took a large sip of hot coffee before typing his reply.

_'Alright, smell ya later.'_

He sniggered at his own text and he didn't even have the time to bring the cup to his lips that his phone went off again.

_'Don't ever use such expressions again, they make my dick soft.'_

The vampire was glad he hadn't taken a sip of coffee, because he would have definitely spat it all over the screen.

_'I still have to understand how are you actually the god of poetry.'_

Mitchell sent the text and took a large gulp of coffee.

_'You make me feel like I've been locked out of heaven for too long, for too long.'_

The vampire's heart skipped a beat as he stared down at the powerful words he had just read, unable to stop stop smiling like an idiot. He frowned suddenly, though, as he realized something.

_'Are you trying to be poetic with a fucking Bruno Martin song? Really?'_

He shook his head and finished off the coffee, he stood up and put on his hat and sunglasses to block out the sunlight. Again, the phone vibrated.

_'It's Bruno Mars, and even though he generally sucks balls this song is pretty cool and it kinda fits us.'_

The brunet scoffed at the correction, he didn't know all the lyrics to the song but still he was loving Anders' courting.

_'So you can actually be romantic, even though those words weren't technically yours. Anyway, don't fall too hard for me, you might hurt yourself.'_

He bit his lower lip, smiling and then pushed the cellphone back into his pocket, making his way to the hotel.

He needed to gather up all his stuff and shove it back in his bags, so that he could pay for the few nights he had spent there and leave.

Anders' text arrived when he was half-way to his room.

_'I can be very romantic with who deserves it. And I could say the same about you.'_

The vampire smirked and typed his last reply.

_'Get back to work, see you in an hour.'_

Mitchell had sorted everything out in less than an hour, so he just waited for the blond outside, sitting on the edge of the sidewalk. He was leaning against the bigger bag, taking deep drags of tobacco when he spotted a familiar SUV.

He stood up, sucked the last drag of smoke and flicked the burnt out butt away before he straightened and dusted off his jeans.

Anders stopped the car in front of him, shutting down the engine before he got out of it "Hey, job boy!" he smirked as he grabbed him by his leather coat to pull him closer.

Mitchell stepped ahead and grinned down at him, wrapping a strong arm around the blond's waist "Hello, million dollar PR..."

They both laughed softly before sharing a hot, long kiss. They had longed for each other the whole morning and they had to show it one another, somehow.

A couple of old ladies walked past them, disgusted expressions twisting their faces "You horrible, sick people! Go to church and seek for salvation!" one of them croaked in a strong Kiwi accent.

The guys broke apart to look at them with arched brows, and Mitchell flipped them the bird.

"We can't fuck in churches, ma'am! It's comfier on the sidewalks!" Anders shrugged, making the old ladies blush and mutter curses as they tried to leave as fast as their weak legs allowed them.

Mitchell was laughing his butt off, pressing his forehead against Anders' temple.

The blond was still smirking when he reared back to look up at the vampire "It should be fun, though."

The brunet arched a brow "What? Salvation?" he smirked softly.

Anders sniggered "No, sex in a church, you dumbass."

Mitchell scrunched up his features "Can't do. I wouldn't exactly catch fire like in cheap movies, but it would be painful." he nodded.

The god widened his eyes in surprise "Seriously?"

"Mhm." the vampire grinned.

"Cool!" Anders chuckled softly and pecked at Mitchell's lips once more before loading the bags into the car "Let's go, now. Lunch awaits!"

The brunet climbed into the SUV and took off his hat and shades, his hand went to ruffle his own curls before he relaxed into the seat.

"So, what job did you score?" Anders briefly glanced at him as he started up the car.

The vampire shrugged "I'm a cleaner at the local hospital?"

The blond furrowed his brows "What? Why? I could help you get any job that's way better than cleaning up shit and vomit!"

Mitchell huffed "Look, it's good for me. I need to keep a low profile and stay away from the sun. This job is ideal."

The blond was still scowling, really not getting why a smart guy like Mitchell wouldn't go for a different and better job "Low profile? Why, are you a criminal?"

The vampire laughed, a hollow laugh "I technically am a murderer, you know? It's not like I've never killed anyone to feed." he rolled his eyes, not exactly comfortable with sharing that dark side of him with the god "But it's mainly 'cause I wanna stay away from other vampires and I don't want people to find out what I am." he shrugged

"So you pick a building filled with fresh blood as a work place, well done." Anders wasn't exactly thinking about what he was saying, as he pulled the car into a parking spot and shut down the engine.

Mitchell glared at him, not expecting that kind of venomous retort "Blood in bags sucks, we don't drink that, we need it warm from the body. Also, I can control myself around patients and everyone else, thank you very much." he wore his sunglasses, leaving the hat on the dashboard before quickly climbing out of the SUV. He was already regretting checking out of the hotel, he had been so stupid to trust Anders like that.

The blond threw his head back against the headrest with a scoff "Shit." he got out of the car, locking it up before he walked over to the vampire. "I'm sorry, that's just how much of an asshole I am." he shrugged as he tugged on the sleeve of Mitchell's coat.

The brunet didn't look at him and just shrugged.

"C'mon, look at me at least!" the god whined with another sharp tug.

"Stop it, you'll ruin my coat." the brunet shook Anders' hand away and kept ignoring his attempts at apologizing.

The blond grunted and grabbed Mitchell's head with both hands, forcing him to look at him in the eyes. He tried not to laugh at the brunet's squished cheeks and tried to apologize again "I mean it, I'm sorry I upset you." he frowned.

The vampire shrugged "I'm a monster, I don't need pity."

Anders groaned, letting go of the brunet's cheeks "Fucking Christ! It's not pity, I wasn't thinking when I spoke!"

Mitchell nodded with raised brows "I figured as much."

"C'mon Mitch, I'm sorry." he pursed his lips, begging for forgiveness with his eyes.

The vampire shifted his jaw and then rolled his eyes, unable to resist the blond's expression "Fine, I forgive you." he sighed "But don't do that to me ever again, yeah?" he threatened him with his index finger.

Anders bit softly the finger that was pointing at him and then nodded "I won't. Sorry."

The brunet sighed and jerked his head towards the restaurant "Let's go, I'm starving." he started heading towards the place.

The god nodded and walked with him.


	5. Chapter 5

The lunch went well, with no nasty remarks and retorts, just their usual jokes and innuendos. Mitchell wasn't sulking anymore and Anders managed not to act like a complete asshole, everything was just funny and cozy.

The food had been remarkable, but the same couldn't be said for the horrible espresso that they had left on the table almost untouched.

They were just walking back to the SUV when Anders dropped the bomb "My family knows that you're a vampire." he unlocked the car with a beep of a small remote and climbed inside.

Mitchell, on the other hand, had frozen in disbelief "What?!" he said eventually, it took him a few moments to get inside the car himself "How?! Did you tell them? You're not supposed to-"

Anders cut him off "Calm down! They found out on their own 'cause they're all gods, too. And well, since Olaf is the family oracle he knows shit..." he grimaced and tilted his head, not really convinced by his own words "Sometimes."

Mitchell was still staring at him wide eyed.

"Gee, close your eyes, you look like a freaking owl." Anders furrowed his brows and started up the car. He backed out of the parking lot and drove in the direction of his house.

"When did they tell you?" the vampire sighed, trying to relax despite how hard of a task it was.

"They came to my office to tell me, thinking they were bringing shocking news." he shrugged.

The brunet scoffed, not knowing whether to be offended or just laugh.

"They wanna get to know you. They want us to go to the bar, tonight." he sighed "They're a pain in the arse, I told you!"

The vampire ran his fingers through his gel sticky curls and then shrugged "We're going, then."

The god widened his eyes and shot him a shocked glance "You taking the piss?"

Mitchell raised his brows "Well, I don't wanna be rude to them, and they're probably all freaked out because you live with a vampire now."

The shocked expression on Anders' face faded, a smug grin taking over in the blink of an eye "Ooh, I like it when you say that we live together, now." he ran his tongue over his front teeth.

The brunet stared at him puzzled for a few moments, then bursted out laughing "Remind me why the hell am I going out with an idiot." he smirked with a cocked brow.

Anders let out a moan and then bit his lower lip, brows creasing as he simulated an orgasm "Yes, I like it when you say that we're going out, too!" he cried out.

Mitchell laughed even harder, nearly bumping his forehead against the dashboard as he bent over "You cock!" he shook his head and wiped away a stray tear.

The blond raised his brows, nodding "Oh,  _my_  cock's gonna stake you in a few moments,  _Nosferatu_."

"What?!" Mitchell was nearly screaming with laughter, by then "Was there cocaine in your food, or something?"

Anders didn't say anything in return because he was very busy laughing his behind off, himself.

When they got home Anders helped Mitchell stash his bags in a corner of the bedroom, they were both too lazy to unpack and make room for the vampire's stuff in the house.

"I'm texting Mike to tell him that we'll visit him tonight, eh?"

Mitchell gave him a thumb up as he swigged at his beer bottle.

"We're eating in, though... Right?" the god asked to be sure, scowling.

The vampire grinned "I wanted to eat out, though." he bit his lower lip, proud of his own innuendo.

Anders stared at him for a moment, then realized "Oh! Well I guess we can arrange that." he smirked before he added "What would you like to eat?" he asked, leaning against the counter with his cellphone still in his hand.

Mitchell took a last sip of beer before setting the bottle down on the table and walking up to the blond, towering over him with lustful eyes for a couple of moments before he dropped to his knees.

Anders set his mobile on the counter – or else he would have surely dropped it – and sucked in a sharp breath when Mitchell's clever fingers unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers.

"Black briefs today, ooh." the vampire puckered his lips as he looked up at the god "Elegant." he flashed him a mischievous grin as he proceeded to tug down his bottoms.

"Gotta stay classy." Anders clasped his hands back on the edges of the counter.

The god was already half hard, and it took Mitchell very little effort to get him fully erected. The rings on the vampire's fingers were sending odd shivers up the god's stomach with every stroke, and he wasn't entirely sure if he liked it or not.

Mitchell leaned in, his skilled tongue flicked a few times at Anders' slit, rolling over the underside, tasting his bitter flavor, then twirled around the tip a couple of times.

Anders furrowed his brows and moaned softly as he looked down at the vampire's pink tongue, his knuckles turning white as he held onto the counter for dear life.

Mitchell worshipped the god's hard member with wet, hot, open-mouthed kisses from its base to the tip, eventually enveloping it with his lips.

The blond's eyes were firmly shut by then, his cheeks had started flushing and his shirt was starting to stick to his sweaty chest, too hot to be worn. He fumbled with the buttons as he tried to at least unbutton it on his torso, but Mitchell was driving him insane, especially when he stared up at him with his huge, dark eyes and the most angelic expression he could flash him. "You're the most blasphemous sight I've ever seen." he managed to say through moans. The rumble of the vampire's laughter sent delightful vibrations up Anders' erection, making his hips churn on their own.

Mitchell sucked in breath through his nostrils and began to slowly bob his head, challenging himself to see how deeply he could take Anders down his throat without gagging.

The god let his right hand fall through dark curls, fingers twirling firmly around a fistful of locks "Oh shit! You're good!" his eyes fell shut and his knees threatened to give out, already.

Each and every groan or cry abandoning the blond's lips were pure music to the brunet's ears, and they pushed him to work harder and faster. He tentatively used his teeth to graze the hardened flesh in his mouth, looking up in search of a reaction from Anders.

The blond hissed at the mix of pain and pleasure, then threw his head back as his hips started jerking forward on their own.

Mitchell relaxed his throat as much as he could, but Anders' thrusts matched the movements of his head too precisely and the tip ended up hitting the back of his throat. He quickly pulled back, coughing and drooling, not in the most attractive of ways.

Anders widened his eyes, immediately releasing the vampire's head "Shit, are you okay?!" he scowled and squatted, his hands cupping Mitchell's cheeks.

The vampire coughed another couple of times, then smiled softly at the god, looking at him teary-eyed as he wiped up his mouth "Y-yeah, I just... Choked like a knob." he sniggered.

Anders laughed softly and shook his head "No, it's my fault. I was humping your throat like an idiot."

The vampire grinned "That only means that I was doing a good job."

The god cocked a brow "Oh, you really were." he ran his right thumb across Mitchell's full lips, then pushed his thumb inside his mouth.

Mitchell flicked and twirled his tongue around the digit a few times, then sucked on it slowly and teasingly, never breaking eye contact with the god.

Anders slipped his finger out of the vampire's mouth and slowly leaned in to whisper against his lips "I wanna fuck you so hard, you have no idea."

Mitchell's whole body shook, and he had to gulp before he could answer "Then show me."

Anders tried to stand up in a mess of tangled clothes, he struggled to remove them along with his dress shoes, bracing himself on the vampire's shoulders as he did so.

Mitchell held him by his hips, seizing the moment to press random wet kisses on every inch of skin that he could reach from that position. When the god finally managed to get rid of his bottoms, the vampire stood up to tear off the shirt that Anders was still wearing, unbuttoned. He leaned in, nosing at the crook of Anders' neck to inhale his scent, letting it intoxicate him with its sweetness. Mitchell loved Anders' scent, just like he loved to feel his arms wrapping around his neck.

"You're okay, yeah?" Anders' voice was nothing but a soft whimper as Mitchell's tongue and lips started tormenting his neck. He just wanted to make sure that the brunet was still there, that his demonic side hadn't won through.

The vampire nodded and reared back to look into hooded, pale blue eyes "Yeah." he gulped "I'm fine." he nodded again before crashing his lips against the god's in a rough kiss.

Anders' moans were muffled and lost inside the brunet's hungry mouth, while his hands slid down to struggle with the buttons of Mitchell's burgundy shirt, the one from the night before.

The vampire suddenly pulled back and looked down at Anders' shaky fingers, idly pushing at the buttons "Fuck it." he muttered and just tore the shirt apart himself, showering the floor in small, bouncing buttons.

The god widened his eyes as he watched the buttons roll around the kitchen, before he glanced back up at the grinning brunet "You beast." he grinned himself, liking that roughness.

"C'mere, you're too small and cute not to do this." Mitchell's hand clasped firmly around the blond's hips.

The god scowled at him "I am not small, nor cute!" he snarled, then gasped when the brunet easily threw him over his shoulder "What are you-? Put me down!" he squirmed but ended up cackling.

Mitchell was laughing himself, as he made his way to the bedroom with Anders hanging from his shoulder like a sack of potatoes "You so are!" he sniggered before dropping the blond on the bed "But it's fine, I like my partners smaller than me." a crooked, smug smirk curved his lips as he kicked off his boots and crawled on top of Anders.

"So, I am your  _partner_  now?" the god smirked and bit his lower lip.

Mitchell smiled and rolled his eyes "Shut up, okay?"

Anders sniggered "Right, talk later."

"Good boy." the vampire nodded "First I make you scream my name, then we talk."

"Mm, we'll see who's gonna scream." the blond clawed at the brunet's chest, blunt nails trying to scratch the fuzzy skin. He succeeded in wrenching a throaty groan from Mitchell, and the delicious sound bolted its way from his ears down to his cock in a matter of moments.

Mitchell knelt up and stretched across the bed – just like he did the night before – and once again his hand searched for condoms and lubricant.

Anders sat up, pushing the now buttonless shirt off the vampire's shoulders, then bent over to twirl his tongue in circles around Mitchell's right nipple. He eventually wrapped his lips around the hard, small button of flesh, flicking his tongue at it a few times before he gave a couple of sharp sucks.

Mitchell had frozen with his arm in midair when Anders had started torturing his nipple, his mouth unable to shut as he shuddered and groaned. He let the pack of condoms drop on the bed and his hands went fumbling with the bottle of lube, uncapping it at the second try since he kept jumping and squirming under the work of Anders' mouth.

The blond pulled back to try and nick the bottle from the brunet's hands, scowling when Mitchell pushed his hand away to keep the bottle "Thought I had to show you how much I wanted to fuck you." he snarled.

"Easy tiger, I'm making up for last night." the brunet smirked and took off his rings, placing them on the nightstand before squirting a generous amount of lube on his right hand "Wouldn't want these guys to get lost inside of you." he sniggered.

"Oh, you dipshit." Anders smirked himself and proceeded to unbutton Mitchell's jeans, toying with the zipper as he watched the thorough way in which the brunet was slicking his fingers in lubricant. The god shifted ahead to sit on his heels, his chest brushing against the vampire's "You'll owe me a second round, you know that, eh?" he purred into his ear, his tongue flicking at the lobe.

Mitchell's left hand cupped the swell of Anders' buttock, pulling at it as his other hand wandered between the god's legs, running his fingers down the hardened shaft, and grazing his sack until he crooked his hand to reach the puckered muscles of the blond's entrance.

Anders' hitched breath ghosted hot on the vampire's ear, his heart racing into his chest and his front teeth sinking into his lower lip. He couldn't remember the last time he had ever been that aroused, or maybe he had never really felt that way with anyone else, no matter all the gorgeous ladies he had laid with.

"You'll man the second round..." Mitchell nodded, his voice husky and dirty as he rubbed Anders' opening in small circles "...if you'll still be able to move."

The blond couldn't say anything, he was shaking too hard to even think properly. He managed to clasp both hands over the vampire's hard, broad shoulders as he braced himself for what had yet to come.

Mitchell's middle finger pushed past the first ring of muscles, earning a strangled moan from Anders. His eyes rolled back into their sockets and his fingers clenched around the brunet's muscles.

Mitchell crooked his digit, pressing at the tight wall a couple of times, then with a single, unorthodox motion he pushed it all the way inside.

Anders let out another throaty cry, his whole body tensed up and his muscles clenched around the brunet's finger.

"Relax, darlin' or we ain't going nowhere." Mitchell whispered into the blond's ear right before he placed a kiss on his temple.

The god arched his back slightly, hands loosening their bruising grip on the brunet's shoulders "Easier said than done," he wheezed, licking his dry lips "just get it over with." he sucked in a deep breath and tried to relax as much as he could, nodding to let the vampire know that he was ready.

Mitchell nodded as well, resting his forehead on Anders' shoulder as his arm reached further down, allowing his ring finger to join the middle one up the blond's body.

"Ow, shit." he whimpered, trying really hard not to clench around the brunet's fingers.

"Gee, you're so tight." Mitchell commented biting his lower lip "I'm gonna have the time of my life." he grinned, forehead still pressed against the god's shoulder.

Anders scoffed "Unless I chop your cock off with my arsehole." he rolled his hips down onto the vampire's fingers with a soft moan "D-do your damn job!"

Mitchell sniggered "God of poetry at his finest." he adjusted the angle of his hand and started pumping his fingers slowly but deeply inside him, even if the tight walls fought them out "Relax." he whispered again.

Anders' eyes were firmly shut as he moaned quietly every time that the vampire's fingers pushed inside him "I-I am tryin'!" he growled "I guess the position doesn't really help!" he huffed, moaning somewhat louder as he felt the digits scissoring to loosen up his muscles.

Mitchell twisted his fingers a few times as he thrust them as deeply as he could "Wanna lay down?" he flicked his tongue at the god's clavicle.

The blond shuddered and groaned at the feeling of the vampire's tongue, his skin had got way more sensitive by then "J-just fuck me, already! Screw the prepping, I've been prepared since the first moment I saw you." he groaned as he rode Mitchell's fingers shamelessly.

A deep, throaty laugh shook the brunet's shoulders "Oh my God!" he pressed an open-mouthed kiss on the god's clavicle as his fingers slid out of him, eventually raising his head.

Anders let out a shaky sigh and pulled back to look at the vampire in the eyes "Oh, no need for formalities, Anders is fine." he grinned.

Mitchell shook his head as he laughed again "Just shut up!" he pinned the blond to the bed and ravaged his mouth with a rough, hungry kiss.

Anders circled the vampire's neck with his arms as he returned the kiss with the same hunger. A muffled groan got lost into their mouths as the god felt the rough fabric of Mitchell's jeans rubbing against his aching erection. "C-c'mon, just get inside!" he whispered desperately against the brunet's mouth.

Mitchell grinned, his still dressed hips lazily and relentlessly rutting against Anders' bare ones "You're so hot when you're begging." he lapped at the god's upper lip.

Anders threw his head back, hips bucking up to increase the friction "Don't be a little shit, Mitchell!" he groaned, digging his nails into the vampire's back.

The brunet moaned and ducked his head to crash their lips together once again before he rolled off of him to get rid of his jeans and boxers, leaving the blond flustered and wheezing between the pillows.

Anders reached the pack of condoms before Mitchell could, quickly tearing up the wrap with his teeth.

"Are we switching roles again?" the vampire asked with a quirked brow, sitting halfway up.

The god rolled his eyes and placed the rolled up rubber over Mitchell's tip, then proceeded to unroll it down the shaft with his mouth.

Mitchell widened his eyes in surprise "Shit!" he moaned when he felt the blond's fingers holding the condom in place as he sucked his way back up.

"Thank fuck for flavored johnnies, eh?" Anders grinned, licking his lips.

"Little fucker." the vampire smirked and fisted at the hair on the back of the god's head as he pulled him into a deep kiss. He reached for the still uncapped bottle of lube with his hand and broke apart from the blond only to speak against his lips "Gimme your hand."

Anders opened his hand flat and waited for the vampire to be done spurting lubricant all over it before wrapping his fingers around Mitchell's erection "Is it cold?" he grinned as he stroked him slowly.

The brunet let out a shuddering breath as his hungry eyes stared into Anders' "A bit..." he gulped "It'd probably be colder without the rubber" he nodded.

"We might get there, who knows?" the blond pressed his thumb against the throbbing glans, wrenching a hoarse groan from the vampire before he let go of him "Your turn." his left brow shot up and in a moment his back was hitting the mattress all over again.

Mitchell guided his erection between Anders' buttocks, prodding at the puckered entrance a couple of times before he entered the first ring of muscles, pulling a strangled moan from both he and the god. The vampire placed his hands on the back of the blond's knees to lift his legs up as he pushed further inside, feeling Anders slowly opening up around him, the deeper he got.

"Ugh, you didn't look  _so_  big!" the god groaned, fingers grasping the sheets and toes curling at the still painful feeling of having Mitchell halfway inside him.

"Hey!" the vampire scowled and tugged on the blond's legs, shoving himself nearly all the way inside of him with a moan.

"Oh fuck!" the blond cried out, clawing at the sheets.

"Can you stop being a prick at least for a couple of moments?" the vampire huffed, bringing one of the god's legs closer to his lips.

"A few moments? Is that how long you're gonna last?" he smirked, clutching his muscles around the brunet's erection on purpose.

Mitchell growled at the delicious squeeze, but sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of Anders' calf for the remark "Don't push your luck." he smirked, rolling his tongue over the bite mark.

Anders groaned "Damn you, Dracula!" he sat halfway up to place his right hand on the back of Mitchell's head "C'mere." he levered himself up and crashed their lips together.

The vampire returned the kiss with the same enthusiasm, letting go of Anders' legs to cup his buttocks as the god sat down on his cock completely.

"Shit!" Anders squeezed his eyes shut as he moaned against Mitchell's lips.

"I-I know!" the vampire whimpered and gave the blond a few moments to get used to his presence before starting to thrust his hips.

The god twisted his fingers around dark locks, his other arm slinging over Mitchell's shoulders as he shifted to find a more comfortable position.

There was no more room for jokes or remarks as Anders was already far too lost into the pace of the vampire's thrusts. The only sounds they made were those of their hitched breaths, their groans, cries, curses and sometimes the noise of their wet kisses.

Anders knew he was pretty close, and when they were sharing a particularly messy kiss his hips started rolling down against Mitchell's to meet his movements. The way in which his own cock was rutting against the vampire's hard stomach wasn't exactly helping him hold back, either.

"Oh yes, like this." the brunet growled against swollen lips. He was so far from feeling the hunger, it was unbelievable. Mitchell was lost in the moment, intoxicated with Anders' scent, the taste of his mouth, the warmth of his body and never, not even for a split moment he had craved for his blood. And it would have been so easy to just slice up his throat with his fangs and drink him dead, since his mouth had been so close to his pulsating veins, to his throbbing jugular. It was like being with Josie all over again, and it was the best feeling ever, better than any orgasm, even better than drinking blood. He didn't have to fuck up this time, he wanted this to last.

"Oh! Fucking Christ!" Anders nearly yelled out when Mitchell's tip hit a bundle of nerves, he stopped rocking his hips and his thighs shook.

The vampire widened his eyes at that reaction and then grinned "Ooh, we found the magic spot!" he panted and moved both hands from the blond's butt to his hips.

"Just shut your cakehole and keep going!" Anders cried out and tugged sharply on the brunet's hair.

"Ow!" Mitchell growled and clenched his fingers around the god's hips hard enough to leave bruises before he started pounding wildly into him, trying to hit the right spot over and over.

And God, he was definitely pushing the right buttons as Anders clawed the nape of the vampire's neck and shoulder-blades, his head dropping back, completely incapable to stop groaning until he climaxed harder than he ever did. His back stiffened as he spurted all over Mitchell's stomach and chest with a strangled yelp, then lost control over his shuddering body.

"Yes. Fuck, yes!" the vampire growled when he felt Anders coming all over his torso and squeezing his erection with his muscles at the same time. He used his inhuman stamina to keep up with the wild pace as his own orgasm built up faster than ever in the pit of his stomach. He could hear Anders whimper his name into his ear, and that was all it took for him to unload himself into the condom – and how he was wishing to actually come inside the blond's body – with the god's name on his lips.

"I-I can't! Pull out!" Anders cried out as Mitchell's hips were still moving on their own as the vampire finished riding his orgasm out. He couldn't take it anymore and he was desperately trying to lift himself up from the brunet's erection.

"No! W-wait!" Mitchell groaned and cupped the blond's face with both hands, he was still shaking with the afterglow of his own climax, but he had managed to stop his hips from torturing Anders "You're amazing." he whispered against the god's cold lips.

Anders' body was so sensitive that he wanted to either scream or cry for how unbearable every touch felt, but he managed to calm down a little with the brunet's sweet words "Fuck you!" he whimpered.

Mitchell raised his brows and managed to let out a breathless laugh "You want more?"

The blond grimaced "No!" he nearly yelled.

The vampire laughed again and helped him getting off his softening erection with a shuddering sigh, making sure to hold the condom in place with one hand as the god removed himself from his lap.

Anders gasped when he felt Mitchell finally sliding out of him, and curled up in a ball, still unable to stop letting out small moans and shaking.

Mitchell took off the rubber and tied a knot at the opening, he tossed it over the nightstand, then focused on his partner "Are you dying?!" he spooned him.

The blond grunted and rolled on his other side to face the vampire "Nearly." he was starting to calm down, so he rolled his eyes and let out a shaky breath "Sorry for snapping, it was just... Pretty fuckin' intense." he apologized.

The brunet sniggered, still finding it hard to breathe normally "It's alright, and I noticed." he pressed his nose against Anders'.

"What I meant is... That you're amazing, too." the blond let his eye fall shut as he tried steadying his breath.

The vampire smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

It wasn't a wild, hips-churning, rough kiss, this time, it was sweet and lovingly, and Anders tiredly slung an arm over Mitchell's neck as he returned it, slowly and tenderly.

"I still don't feel the need to drink your blood, you know?" the brunet whispered when they eventually broke apart.

Anders blinked his eyes open and smiled, completely worn out "It's 'cause I'm your destiny." he snickered. Anders had deliberately decided that he and Mitchell were each other's destiny. There was no Idunn or anything else that could come between them, and his family agreed with him... More or less.

Mitchell sniggered, himself "Prolly." he pressed his lips against the blond's once again "I think you're the person who's going to make me stop feeding on blood for good."

The god raised his brows "That's a big responsibility." he thumbed lazy circles on the vampire's shoulders "I wanna do it." he cracked into another sweet smile.

"Ta." he received a goofy smile in return, then they kissed until they fell asleep.

* * *

Mitchell woke up three hours later to the raging sound of Anders' ringtone, coming all the way from the kitchen. "An'rs..." he muttered still half asleep, trying to wake up the man that was all tangled up around him. Of course he didn't get any reply, not even a snort. He gave him a prod, then called him a little louder and clearer "Anders..." this time the blond groaned and snuggled closer to him, nuzzling the crook of his neck. The vampire couldn't help but smile and kiss the top of his head "Your phone's ringing, darlin'" he said softly, maybe too softly.

Anders grunted "Give 'im a beer and it'll be fine..." he muttered, the god was definitely still sleeping as he answered.

The brunet furrowed his brows and laughed sleepily "No, your phone! I can't make it drink beer!" he shook his head and sucked in a deep breath as he freed himself from the blond's warm embrace. He slung his legs over the edge of the bed and hesitantly pressed his bare feet on the cold floor.

"Nooo!" Anders whined with his eyes still closed, blindly searching for Mitchell on the bed "No, don't leave! Don't leave me!" he desperately cried out.

The vampire bit back a laugh as he turned and stretched across the bed to caress Anders' hair, soothingly "I'll be right back, I'm not leaving you." he said softly.

The blond seemed to be thinking about it for a moment "...'kay." he muttered eventually and immediately started snoring like a pig.

Mitchell laughed quietly and shook his head. He made a quick stop to the bathroom to pee, but then took his time to wash away the sperm that had dried up all over his stomach and chest "This makes me wanna wax..." he muttered to himself as he rubbed a towel against his abs.

By the time he stepped out of the bathroom, Anders' cellphone went off again "Gee, and what fuckin' time is it, anyway?" he scrubbed a hand over his face as he noticed that it was night. He padded his way to the kitchen, hitting his side into the corner of the island "Bloody fuckin' hell!" he groaned as he bent over, holding his side and suffering as much as he would suffer if he got shot. Of course the mobile never stopped ringing all the while, so he slumped against the counter and grabbed the devilish device. Mike's name was flashing on the screen, Mitchell bit his lip as he decided whether he should be answering or not. "Whatever." he sucked in a deep breath and answered "Hello?"

Silence.

"Uh, hello?" Mitchell heard bustling in the background, then someone cleared their throat.

" _Mitchell? Is that you?"_

"Yeah. Yeah it's me, you alright, Mike?" he rubbed his eyes, still wondering what was the time.

" _Sure I am. Where's Anders though? Is he okay?"_

Mitchell smirked to himself at the poorly hidden concern in Mikkel's voice "I didn't kill him, don't worry. He's just sleeping." he licked his lips and pulled away from the counter to back into the bedroom.

" _W-what?! I wasn't implying that! Why would I?"_

The vampire sniggered "It's alright, Mike. I know you're all worried about your brother, but he's fine... He's just..." he looked over at Anders, sprawled across the bed "Well, he does look dead, right now, but I'm pretty sure he's still alive."

" _Uh... Sure. Well, we were just worried 'cause we were waiting for you to come over."_

Mitchell widened his eyes "Oh fuck!" he blinked, suddenly remembering that they were indeed supposed to swing by at Mike's bar "We fell asleep! I'm so sorry! Wait, I'll try to wake the big baby up." he smirked and crawled on top of Anders' back, keeping the phone away from his mouth. He started pressing several kisses up the god's spine, reaching the nape of his neck and nipping at the soft skin there.

The blond hummed contently and squirmed slightly under the vampire's sweet attentions.

"You need to wake up, there's your brother on the phone." he whispered into his ear.

Anders groaned, furrowing his brows "Fuck him, I'm in bed with you, now." he slurred before burying his face into the pillow.

Mitchell sighed and rolled his eyes "Anders, c'mon. Just talk to him!" he knew that Mike could hear everything they were saying, but there was only one way to get him to answer the damn phone "If you answer the damn phone, I'll blow you." he tried to keep his voice as low as he could.

The blond turned his head, waking up all of a sudden "Alright, where's the fucking phone?"

The vampire laughed and then handed him the mobile, rearing back to let him roll on his back.

Anders cleared his throat, then finally answered "Yeah?" he pointed at his crotch with raised brows.

Mitchell rolled his eyes and whispered "Later."

"No, now." the blond mouthed in the dim light of the room.

" _Anders? I thought you were coming over!"_

"I told you I was gonna be there if we weren't too fucked out to still stand!" Anders corrected him, then held his breath when he felt Mitchell's lips wrapping around the tip of his cock.

" _Can you stop thinking about fucking for a second?"_

"Ohh..." he moaned softly as the brunet started sucking him off "N-not right now, no." he sniggered, twisting his fingers around dark curls.

" _...Are you rooting him, right now?"_

"No?" he let out a shuddering breath, his fingertips massaging the back of Mitchell's head.

" _Oh God, Anders... I can hear it in your voice!"_

"Then hang the fuck up?" he snapped "Oh, shit!" he couldn't hold back a loud moan when the vampire swallowed him whole.

" _You're disgusting."_

"It's not like you never shag Michelle, right?" he sniggered "Ow, ow... No teeth." he whispered.

" _Oh, please! I'll call you tomorrow!"_

Anders laughed when his brother hung up, then stretched his arm to place his mobile on the nightstand.

Mitchell pulled back, wiping his lips with the back of his hand as he grinned down at the god "You're an ass, really." he sniggered.

"I'd rather say evil genius." he grinned himself "Don't tell me you wanted to go out, right now." he arched a brow.

"Fuck, no!" the vampire scoffed, furrowing his brows.

"Good, then finish what you started." Anders folded his arms behind his head, waiting for Mitchell to start blowing him all over again.

"You're so sweet, I'm a lucky guy." the vampire nodded.

"I know, you really are." the blond cocked his head.

Mitchell shook his head, smirking, then ducked his head to finish his job. Hopefully he wouldn't choke, this time around.


	6. Chapter 6

Mitchell's first shift started at 7 in the morning, so this time he didn't have to wrestle away from Anders to get out of bed, since he was sound asleep. He left him be and got ready in a matter of minutes, also finding the time to have something for breakfast – which was kind of hard, since the blond wasn't kidding when he said that he often forgot to shop for groceries. He made a note to himself that he needed to buy some food when he got off from work, because he was pretty sure that Anders wasn't going to take care of it.

The hospital wasn't exactly close to the house, but Mitchell didn't mind walking, especially in the calm of the early morning when most people were still in slumber, lingering in the warmth of their beds. He enjoyed the chilly air, the dim light of the upcoming dawn and the general lack of loud noises typical of the daytime. He was a vampire, after all, a creature of the darkness, and in that moment he felt completely relaxed and at ease.

He lit up a cigarette while he wasn't even halfway from the hospital yet, taking the first drag of tobacco of the day with a content smile on his face as he relived the moments from the evening and night before. It had been years, hell it had been decades since the last time he had been able to have proper sex with someone, sex that didn't end up in slaughter. It was still hard for him to believe that everything had really happened to him, just like that. He thought that he had been way too lucky, it wasn't normal, there had to be a catch or something. He knew that Anders wasn't exactly the perfect man, he was far from being a saint, but hey, so was Mitchell and he really couldn't complain, but the way in which the god was acting with Mitchell seemed to be pretty new for him, even his family was utterly shocked. That made him feel proud, because maybe it was true, maybe they really were each other's destiny, and together they were going to turn their lives upside down.

The shift had started out nicely, he had met a few colleagues and a chick had already tried to hit on him, she was very cute but Mitchell had politely turned her down. He could swear he heard her mutter something about how the prettiest guys always happen to be gay, and he really couldn't hold back a snigger.

The hours passed and he was slowly getting less and less disgusted by what he had to mop up most of the time, he dared considering that everything was going perfectly, until the victim of a horrible motorbike crash came in.

The ER turned gory in the blink of an eye and Mitchell perked up at the sight of all that blood, his eyes already hooded as his stomach twisted painfully and his hands began to shake around the pole of the mop. He knew he had to get out of there or things could get ugly. He could perfectly hear the faint sound of the patient's heart and every fiber of his body was craving for blood.

Mitchell sucked in a deep breath through his mouth, desperately trying to hold on to his humanity as he quickly fled the ER, trying to look as casual as possible as he pretended to be cleaning the floor of the isle.

"John Mitchell?"

The brunet froze. He so didn't want to be scolded during his first day of work.

He slowly turned around, sporting the cutest smile he could make as he faced a tall, black-haired woman wearing gray scrubs. Great, a doctor. "Yes, ma'am?"

A pair of icy eyes scanned him from head to toe, then the woman jerked her head towards an open door "Follow me, please."

The vampire scowled and watched the doctor disappear into the room she had probably come from. He sucked in a deep breath and followed her inside, still dragging the mop with him.

"You can leave that against the wall or whatever." she gestured to nowhere in particular and took a seat behind a plain white desk.

"Right." he did as he was told, then sat across from the doctor.

"I saw you back there, in the ER." she started, a weird smile appearing on her lips.

"Yeah, I'm sorry... It's the first time I've witnessed something like that, I was kinda shaken." he tried to look as mortified as he could, but the woman was still smirking.

"Yeah, right. You know nothing about bloodbaths." she scoffed, kicking her feet up and crossing her ankles on the desk.

The brunet frowned and blinked as things were getting weirder by the minute "I beg your pardon?" he didn't have to panic, he needed to stay calm and just deny anything she'd accuse him of.

The doctor laughed, elegantly tilting her head back as she did so "I know what you are, Mitchell." she bit her lower lip, cocking her head as she studied his expression "And I don't like it, not even a tiny little bit." she shook her head slowly.

Mitchell widened his eyes "I have no idea what you're talking about." he licked his lips, shrugging "I've been working here only for a few hours, I just-" he really tried to cover up whatever she was implying, but she cut him off.

"I know you're shagging the dwarf boy of the Johnsons Five, and I know how much of a horny pig he is, but I really cannot see why he would actually fuck a vampire." she raised her brows and shrugged.

Mitchell scowled and flared his nostrils, his jaw clutched as he squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, boiling with anger "Who the fuck are you?" he growled lowly.

The woman grinned "I'm Michelle, and I'm a goddess."

The vampire widened his eyes, he had heard Anders say that name the night before "Mike's girlfriend?"

She pursed her lips "More or less." she tilted her head from side to side "You see... Goddesses aren't as stupid as gods. We don't trust people so easily." she shook her head "Especially when they're monsters."

Mitchell couldn't do anything, no matter how furious he was, he couldn't snap into his workplace, plus he couldn't harm Mike's woman. She knew she was untouchable and that's what enraged the vampire even more. "You know nothing about me. You can't judge me." he was still trying to keep his voice low, but it was so hard.

"I know the essential. I know you're dangerous and that – for all I know – you could be planning to swipe all the human incarnations of gods from the earth." she shrugged "Vampires want supremacy, don't they?" she smiled politely.

Mitchell had never wanted to punch a woman in the face so much in his whole, long life. He didn't, of course, he just snorted, unable to believe what he was hearing "I'm lapsed and alone. I don't have a clan, nor a nest. I just wanna be at peace. I couldn't care less about vampire supremacy."

Michelle sniggered "Look, I could believe you – and I obviously don't – but still, you're a murderer. It's in your DNA, you can't really change that, can you?" she paused, narrowing her eyes "Also, why would you play happy couple with one of the worst twats ever?" she scoffed "I mean... Anders, really?" she grimaced "I'd see you way better with someone like Tyrone. You could be broody and gloomy together, you know?"

The brunet jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over, this was going too far "Shut your bloody mouth-"

She giggled "Pot, kettle, black?"

Mitchell couldn't hold back this time and slammed his fists into the desk "Enough!" he shouted, his eyes turning pitch black as he glared at the goddess.

"Wow..." she reared back, both scared and impressed "Yes, you're totally harmless." she smirked "You might wanna leave this room now, Mr Mitchell."

The vampire blinked and his eyes went back to normal "Damn right I wanna." he hissed before he turned on his heels and walked out of the room – not forgetting to bring the mop with him – and of course didn't bother to pick up the chair.

That was bad, awfully bad, if she reported everything to Mike he'd probably do anything to keep him away from Anders.

She had been so weird with all those stupid assumptions, how could she even think that he wanted to exterminate all the human incarnations of the gods? She had to be nuts.

Also, what was up with her suggesting him to be with Anders' brother Ty? Again, he was even more sure that she had to be bonkers.

Mitchell was nervous, too nervous, and all the blood he had seen and smelled earlier didn't help his case. He needed to smoke, and he needed to do it as soon as he could.

He checked the time on his phone and saw that it was only ten minutes to the end of his shift, and he had also received a text from Anders.

" _How rude of you to leave without blowing me goodbye. No cock for you, tonight."_

Mitchell snorted with laughter and rolled his eyes.

" _I had brushed my teeth, already. Couldn't eat anymore."_

He pushed his phone back into his pocket, but he didn't even have the time to leave the mop in the storage that his phone buzzed again.

" _Don't go home from the hospital, swing by at the shop, we'll go together."_

He pursed his lips and nodded at the screen, as if Anders could see him.

" _Gotcha. See you in a bit."_

When he stuffed his mobile back into his pocket, this time, he didn't have to fish it back out as he made his way to the lockers.

* * *

Anders was slouching in his chair, hand scrubbing over his freshly shaven face as he asked Dawn for the umpteenth time, that day "Do you think I looked better with a beard?"

The girl huffed, stuffing a few papers into her purse "For the millionth time, Anders, no. You look better like this, you look younger and..." she paused, trying to find the right words not to sound too rude "Cleaner." she slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

The god looked utterly offended "Are you telling me that I looked dirty?" he scowled.

Dawn blinked a few times, stuttering a bit at first "W-well, yes. Yes. You kinda looked like a dirty person." then she rolled her eyes "Which you are, basically. You  _are_  a pervert. But it's way better not to look creepy." she shrugged.

Anders stared at her "Do you realize that you just killed me, right?" he squinted his eyes at her.

The PA pursed her lips and hunched her shoulders a little "I'm just being honest. You can't possibly call yourself a saint." she nodded.

The PR shook his head "Traitor."

They would have both continued the conversation, if Mitchell hadn't stepped into the office with two bags loaded with food, interrupting them "Have I just walked into a domestic?" the brunet teased, then furrowed his brows as he took a better look at Anders "You shaved?!" his jaw dropped slightly, he couldn't believe that the blond could get any more handsome.

Anders laughed and stood up from the chair "Yeah, you like?" he smirked, walking up to him.

The vampire grinned "Yeah, a lot, actually!" he bit his lower lip.

The god looked down at the bags as he stopped in front of him "What's that? You went grocery shopping?"

The brunet rolled his eyes "I hope you don't mind, 'cause I can't exactly live just on beer, y'know."

The blond twisted his fingers into the collar of Mitchell's shirt "I told you I was the shitty flatmate, not you." he shrugged and they both sniggered.

Dawn, in the meantime, had kept quiet as she observed the guys interacting, but when she saw how close they were standing and the hunger in each other's eyes she couldn't help but clear her throat "Uh, I'll be on my way." she announced.

They both looked at the girl as if she had just popped out of nowhere.

"Oh, fuck. Rude much? I should introduce you two." Anders shook his head "Mitchell, she's my guardian angel, Dawn."

Mitchell smiled brightly at her, leaving the bags on the floor to extend a gloved hand to her "We meet at last, Anders is constantly talking about you."

Dawn was a bit mesmerized by the tall, dark guy towering over her with those intense eyes and beautiful smile. She blinked a couple of times, then looked down at the hand he was offering her, studying the shapes of the rings that were barely visible under fingerless gloves "Well, that must be boring, I'm sorry." she scoffed, then finally looked back up at him "Pleased to meet you...?" she shook his hand with creased brows.

"Mitchell." the brunet nodded, smile still plastered on his lips.

"Right! Well uh... Anders never mentioned your name, but I'm pretty sure that you're the reason why he's being weirder than usual." her eyes wandered from the tall man to the shorter one, curiously.

"Yeeeah, he's the culprit." he grinned, looking up at the vampire.

Mitchell was still feeling a little weird, even if he was trying really hard to look like nothing was off. He quickly drew back his hand, unable to stand the inviting warmth of the lady's skin. He was still shaken and the hunger was threatening to hit him all over again, even going grocery shopping had been an hard task, as he had to ignore several heartbeats that were drumming into his ears.

When Dawn realized that the brunet wasn't going to talk anymore she placed her hand on the doorknob "I'll leave you to it..." she smiled nervously, then widened her eyes, her cheeks quickly flushing "N-not  _it_...  _That_... I-I... Bye!" she stammered, then quickly left the shop.

The men both stared quietly at the door for some moments, then bursted out laughing.

"I bet she doesn't know you're into guys, too?" Mitchell smirked.

The blond shook his head "Not exactly." he sniggered, then turned to stroke the brunet's chest "How was work?"

Mitchell's eyes darkened, he wasn't going to mention the blood incident, but he sure as hell was going to tell him about Michelle. "I think you should have a word with Mike." he started, flaring his nostrils.

The god scowled "What... Does Mike have to do with your job?"

Mitchell scoffed "His girlfriend works at the hospital?"

Anders widened his eyes "You met Michelle? How do you know she's-"

The vampire cut him off pronto "She knows that I'm a vampire, and apparently she hates my race." he shrugged.

The blond just stared at him puzzled, so the brunet went on.

"He shouldn't go around telling people what I am, no matter how close those people are to him. I don't care. It's dangerous and just plain wrong. I wouldn't go around telling people that you guys are Norse gods!"

Anders raised his hands "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. What happened exactly?" he was completely confused.

The brunet ran a hand through his unruly hair, taking a breath as he tried to be as calm as possible while recalling everything "She summoned me into a room, then started implying that I'm going to wipe your whole race from earth with my" he made an air quote sign with his fingers "vampire army, or something."

Anders was even more confused as he listened to him with squinted eyes "...And is this what you are really gonna do?"

Mitchell looked at him dead in the eyes, letting his arms fall heavily along his sides "Are you really asking me this question?" he said in a monotone voice.

The blond shrugged "Just making sure, you can't really blame me, this supernatural world is just as fucked up as the human one."

The vampire sucked in a deep breath "No, it isn't. I'm just trying to live a normal life."

The god nodded "Alright... So, what else did she do?"

The brunet raised his thick brows "Insulted me, you... She also blabbed about how I should be dating your brother Ty instead of you, or whatever." he shook his head "A pile of crap."

Anders perked up when he mentioned his little brother "What the fuck? Why would she suggest you to be with Ty?" he had already been pissed enough when he saw the way his brother stared at Mitchell, or reacted when the vampire was just mentioned, he didn't need to hear that kind of crap coming from Michelle.

The vampire scoffed "My best guess? She's nuts." then he went on, cocking his head "So, tell your brother Mike not to spill around other people's business, I don't want crazy people to harass me at work or anywhere else." he folded his arms across his chest.

The god nodded "I know, I'll talk to him." he stuffed his hands into his pockets, then pursed his lips "She probably asked him about you while they were rooting. Goddess are smart little bitches." he raised his brows.

Mitchell shrugged "I don't give a shit, I don't want to be chased with torches and sticks because of her."

The blond sniggered "The only stick that's gonna chase you is  _mine,_ don't you worry." he smirked.

Mitchell sniggered himself, rolling his eyes "I was almost worried that you weren't turning everything into a sexual innuendo." he smirked.

Anders laughed and grabbed him by his coat to pull him into a deep kiss.

Mitchell cupped the blond's cheeks, moaning softly into his mouth as the god sucked on his tongue. His blood thirst was starting to be chased away by his arousal, especially when he felt Anders fingers fumbling with his jeans. Mitchell took off his coat, dropping it on the floor while the blond had finally popped the button open.

"Come..." the blond wrapped his fingers around the vampire's wrist and walked him to his desk. He pushed the chair away and pulled a drawer open.

The vampire peeked over Anders' shoulder and widened his eyes a little "What the fuck?"

The blond pulled a small bottle of lube and a condom out of the drawer "First rule: always be prepared." he chuckled.

"I thought we were going home?" the brunet ducked his head to leave a trail of wet kisses down the god's neck.

Anders shut his eyes and blindly pushed the drawer closed "Can't wait that long. I want you now." he turned around and slid a hand up the vampire's neck, fisting at his dark curls.

Mitchell smirked against the blond's skin and lifted him up to sit him on the desk.

The god placed a hand on the vampire's chest "No, no, no, no, no." he gently pushed him away " _I_  am fucking you." he grinned.

The brunet raised his brows "Ohh..." he licked his lips "Alright, then." he pulled off his yellow t-shirt along with the black, long sleeved shirt he was wearing underneath.

Anders watched as the vampire stripped for him, doing nothing but enjoying the show. He watched the way in which his necklace was dangling over his bare chest, and staring at his abs flexing when the brunet pulled down his jeans, remaining in his tight, black boxer shorts. The blond licked his lips, a smirk slowly curling his lips as he slid to his feet "Bend over the desk." he ordered, running a hand down Mitchell's stomach.

A crooked grin appeared on Mitchell's face "Your wish is my command, lord Bragi." he teased.

Anders puckered his lips and furrowed his brows at the sentence "Ooh, such a good boy." he spanked the vampire and then proceeded to take off his own clothes.

The brunet placed his still gloved hands on the smooth surface of the desk, brushing away a few papers that were in the way, then spread his legs as further as the jeans around his ankles allowed.

Anders fingered at the hem of the vampire's boxers to slowly tug them down "I really don't like the fact that Michelle thinks you should be with my brother." he cupped the swell of Mitchell's butt with both hands and squeezed it.

Mitchell bit his lower lip then looked back over his shoulder "Jealous of the vampire flatmate?"

The god spanked him hard "You're  _my_ vampire." he pointed out as he began to coat his fingers with lube.

The vampire gasped at the spank "Yours? Really?" he smirked, arching his back and letting out a soft moan when he felt Anders' thumb entering him.

"Mhm. You're mine, not Iceman's." he pushed his thumb deeper, placing the rest of his hand on the small of Mitchell's lower back.

The brunet flexed his shoulder blades, tilting his head back for a moment "Iceman?" he chuckled softly.

"Yeah, Ty's the god of everything cold and dark." Anders knelt as his digit slid out of the vampire's body.

Mitchell let out a soft, shaky breath "So... He could be my god." he said casually, not even thinking about it "I'm dark and cold." he sniggered.

The blond flared his nostrils and suddenly thrusted both his middle and ring fingers inside the brunet's body "What did you just say?" he growled, leaning in to sink his teeth into Mitchell's left buttock.

The vampire groaned, hunching his back as he wasn't expecting such a sudden intrusion "Fuck, Anders!" he idly scratched the surface of the desk.

Anders smirked "Yeah, that's the only name of a god you gotta scream." he moved his mouth to start placing full-tongued laps across the brunet's sack as his fingers pumped inside of him.

Mitchell pressed his forehead into the desk "I-is this your way of officially ask me out?" he moaned, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment.

Anders pulled back and licked his lips to answer "Maybe." he began to flick his tongue at the vampire's perineum, wrenching all sorts of groans from his throat.

Mitchell's knees threatened to give out, his erection throbbing as he braced himself on his strong arms to throw his head back with a particularly loud and high groan "Fuck me!"

The god sniggered, torturing him with a couple more licks before rearing back to stand up "And is this your way of accepting?" his fingers were still inside Mitchell, he just turned his hand so that his palm was facing up and crooked his digits as he pumped hard and fast inside of him.

The vampire dropped his chin on his chest "Y-yes!" he groaned as he thrusted his hips back into the blond's fingers.

Anders grinned and pulled his digits out with a single, sharp motion "Now Michelle can go choke on Mikkel's cock." he smirked, unrolling a condom down on his shaft and slicking it thoroughly with lube.

Mitchell huffed, lacing the fingers of both his hands together and leaning his forehead against them "You only asked it because of her?"

The god shrugged "I guess we'll never know." he would never admit that, of course, he asked Mitchell to be with him because he actually wanted him to, but that would also be admitting that he actually felt ready to get into a real relationship with someone.

The brunet smirked "Right..." he sucked in a breath and relaxed, swaying his hips a little to remind the blond that he was waiting for him.

Anders snickered and stopped him, placing his hands on his hips and pulling at them "Stop squirming, belly dancer."

Mitchell's laughter turned soon into a moan as the blond entered him after a few teasing prods at his opening.

The god sucked in a deep breath, licking his lips as he made his way to bury himself completely into the vampire with small thrusts. "Shit you feel..." he furrowed his brows "Cold. That's so weird." he hadn't really noticed it when he was fingering him, but now that he was all the way inside him it definitely felt odd.

The brunet bent his knees a little, his hands pressed flat against the desk as he groaned at each small buck of Anders' hips "I-I'm dead, what did you expect?" he whined.

The blond stopped for a moment, scowling and making a face "You make me feel like a necrophile."

Mitchell laughed "Y-you kinda are." he pushed his hips back into the god's with a soft moan, encouraging him to move again.

Anders moaned and started thrusting all over again "Don't say that." he sniggered, shaking his head as his fingers gripped tighter around the vampire's hips.

They were soon lost into the rough pace of Anders' thrusts, covered in sweat and short-breathed, unable to hear the few knocks on the main door of the office.

"Y-yes, yes!" Mitchell cried out as the blond had adjusted the angle of his thrusts to try and hit the spot that was going to push him off the edge.

The door opened suddenly and Ty stepped in "Hey I-" he widened his eyes, freezing.

Both Anders and Mitchell's gazes shot up at him, shocked.

The vampire's eyes, though, in the sudden mix of emotions, turned black as he bared his fangs, hissing at the intruder.

"What the fuck?" Ty didn't know what to say or do, shocked to have walked in on his brother having sex with his boyfriend, and terrified by the brunet's reaction.

"No, what the fuck are  _you_  doing here? Don't you fucking knock anymore?" Anders snarled, not even bothering to pull out of Mitchell.

The vampire blinked his eyes back to normal and flared his nostrils as he desperately tried to cover himself "A-Anders, pull out!" his words were left unheard because the brothers were yelling too loudly.

"I did knock! I heard someone say yes, I thought you were letting me in!" Ty growled back and then covered his eyes "Shit!" he turned around.

"You fucking moron, it wasn't even my voice!"

"I said pull out!" Mitchell shouted.

Anders blinked and looked down "Right..." he slid out of the brunet's body.

The vampire quickly pulled up his shorts and jeans before he stormed into the toilet. If he wasn't dead already he was sure that he would have died of embarrassment.

"What the fuck do you want, you asshole?" Anders pulled off the condom and tossed it into the trash before pulling his pants back up, boiling with rage.

"I'm here with Mike, he's in the car..." Ty turned around with his eyes still covered.

The blond growled "Great! And you can open your eyes, he's in the toilet." he glared at him as he wore his shirt.

Ty let his arms drop along his sides, unaware of his quite visible hard on "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to interrupt."

Anders scowled, noticing his brother's boner "You dirty bastard, did you get turned on watching me rooting Mitchell?"

His brother widened his eyes and looked down "Fuck, of course not!" he lied, trying to cover it up.

"Get the fuck out of this office, I am not gonna see you nor Mike, right now." he stalked up to him and pushed him out.

"But-"

Anders shoved the door shut into his face and locked it up. "Mitchell!" he called out as he walked into the toilet.

The vampire was washing his face, still shaking from both the embarrassment and the sex "That was horrible." he flared his nostrils as he shook his head.

"Speak of the devil, eh?" Anders leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest as he watched the vampire.

"What did he want?" Mitchell grimaced before rubbing his face dry with a towel.

The god shrugged "Beats me, he said he came with Mike and they probably wanted to talk to me. I told him to fuck off."

The brunet raised his brows as he put the towel back on the rack "You should talk to them, though. Go tell Mike about his psycho goddess."

Anders scrunched his face "Don't you wanna finish what we started?" he whined.

Mitchell glared at him "Not after Ty got wood over us." he muttered.

The blond scoffed "C'mon!"

The vampire shook his head "No, go tell Mike off." he jerked his head towards the door.

Anders pulled him close and crashed their lips together into a deep, sloppy kiss.

The brunet moaned but didn't break apart, he just wrapped his arms around the god's neck.

"Did I change your mind, already?" the blond whispered against his lips before flicking his tongue at them.

Mitchell pursed his lips and glanced up at the ceiling "I'm not so sure." he looked back down at Anders, running his long fingers through the short hair on the back of the god's head.

Anders popped the button of Mitchell's jeans open and pulled down the zipper, slipping his hand into the front of his boxers. He wrapped his fingers around the vampire's still hard member and began to stroke it "Go on, tell me again that you're not interested." he smirked, moving his mouth over the brunet's neck to suck on a soft spot.

Mitchell gripped at Anders' hair, moaning as he let his eyelids fall shut "I'm not... Interested." he bit his lower lip and tilted his head to the side, giving the god more access to his neck.

Anders' hand worked faster on the vampire's erection, and he bit his neck so hard that he nearly tore the skin.

Mitchell groaned loudly, then widened his eyes at the sharp pain in his neck, yanking Anders' head back to look at him "D-don't drink my blood. Ever. Don't let it get into your system." he panted, terrified.

The god stopped stroking him and nodded at his words, a little frightened by the sudden outburst "O-okay, sorry..." he looked at the nasty bruise he left on Mitchell's neck, then gulped "Can we just go back to what we were doing?"

The brunet let go of his hair and nodded "Yeah." he was being startled too often that day, for his taste, but he figured that a good orgasm was surely going to empty his mind. He pulled back and dropped his jeans and boxers to his ankles.

The blond did the same "Face the wall." he ordered.

"You're being a little too bossy, today." the brunet smirked but did as he was told, leaning his hands against the wall.

"Well, I'm a god, I can do that." he smirked and spat on his hand a couple of times to try and lube up his erection with it as best as he could. He adjusted the angle of Mitchell's hips, then thrusted into him again "Oh fuck! It's even colder without a condom!" he moaned as he easily got all the way inside him "It's like fucking a fridge!"

The vampire groaned and balled his hands into fists "For fuck's sake! Shut up about my body temperature!"

The blond pounded wildly into Mitchell's body, enjoying the odd but pleasant feeling of Mitchell's cold muscles clenching around him.

The brunet couldn't stop moaning, feeling his orgasm close yet not being able to actually reach it. He moved one of his hands down his stomach and started stroking himself hard and fast "I-I'm gonna get the wall dirty." he growled, arching his back.

Anders was close too, and he leaned in to bite Mitchell's shoulder "Be as messy as you want. Oh fuck!" he gulped back a groan, pressing his forehead between the vampire's shoulder blades as he suddenly came inside of him with a strangled yelp.

The vampire pressed his forehead against the wall, quickening even more the pace of his strokes and unloading himself against the wall a few moments after Anders had reached his own climax. "Shit..." he whispered, his legs were shaking and he could barely stand still.

The god wrapped an arm around the brunet's waist, taking his time to recover from his orgasm as he slowly pulled out of him "I'd say I'm sorry for the lack of protection but... It was so worth it." he grinned and placed an open-mouthed kiss on his sweaty back.

Mitchell snorted "I know you're not sorry." he sucked in a breath and felt Anders' thick load stream down his inner thigh "It's hot, though." he smirked and then looked down at the dirty wall "It's a good thing that you've got tiles here, easy to clean."

Anders' only replied with a laugh as he wrapped his other arm around the vampire's waist.

* * *

After they had cleaned up the bathroom and tidied up the desk a bit, the vampire and the god were able to go home and have a shower. Of course they decided that sharing the tub would be the best thing to do to save water and act like a pair of kids as they splashed each other, then like a pair of beasts on heat when Anders was slammed against the cold tiles of the shower.

Once they were finally dry and dressed, the blond had managed to convince the brunet to tag along and pay a visit to his older brother. He was also planning on punching Ty square in his stupid face if he was at the bar.

"Please don't fight with your little brother, if he's with Mike." Mitchell sighed as he buckled himself and rested tiredly against the headrest.

"He's pissing me off with the way he acts around you." he grunted, starting up the SUV "And Michelle's insinuations piss me off even more." he pulled the car into the road and drove – maybe a little too fast – towards the bar.

Mitchell furrowed his brows, squinting at the god "What are you talking about? How does he act around me?"

Anders rolled his eyes "Nevermind." he muttered.

The vampire scoffed "If you didn't want me to ask you never should have mentioned it." he folded his arms across his chest as he stared at him.

The blond snorted "He looks like his dick's always about to burst out of his pants when he sees you." he hissed through gritted teeth.

Mitchell huffed with laughter "Yeah, right." but then he saw the serious look on Anders' face and blinked "You're serious? He fancies me?"

The god scrunched his face and shrugged "I don't know! He claims that he's... Strangely attracted to you. And today he couldn't stop staring at you bent over my damn desk."

The vampire widened his eyes "Well, anyone would stare at the shagging people they had just walked into!"

Anders shook his head "Whatever."

Mitchell sighed and looked down at his lap. They both kept quiet for a while, until the vampire's lips curled into a smirk "You're jealous."

The blond snorted "The hell I am."

The brunet looked at the way in which Anders' nostrils flared and how his fingers clenched around the steering wheel. There was no need for him to admit it, for Mitchell already knew and it was alright.

When they stepped into the bar both Ty and Mike were there, and Olaf was with them, too. The younger of the three suddenly tensed up, widening his eyes when he saw the couple walking towards them.

"Lucky Ty, he witnessed real gay sex." Olaf laughed and raised both his thumbs.

Tyrone's face would have turned bright red if his body temperature wasn't that of the North Pole, he did look away, though.

"Ha-fucking-ha, grandpa." Anders chanted as he looked at his grandfather dead in the eye.

Mike squared his shoulders and shifted his jaw, feeling uncomfortable with the vampire's presence "Hey guys."

Mitchell glared at him with furrowed brows, and for a moment Ty thought that his eyes were going to turn black just like they did back in the shop.

The blond folded his arms across his chest "So, what was so important that you came all the way to my office?"

His older brother sucked in a deep breath, his eyes wandering from Anders to Mitchell, then back to Anders "Michelle and Mitchell met today." he started, but he was cut off by Anders' laugh.

"Michelle and Mitchell met, this sounds like the beginning of a stupid joke." he shrugged.

Mitchell didn't even flinch as he kept glaring a hole into Mikkel's skull, unaware of Ty's gaze focused on him.

Olaf sniggered "It's actually funny, he's right." he nodded.

Mike rolled his eyes "Whatever."

Anders was about to speak, but Mitchell was faster as he stepped ahead and placed his hands on the counter "I thought we had started off on the right foot, but it seems like it isn't so." he started, cocking his head "I was going to try really hard to get you and the rest of your family to like me, because I care about Anders, but you shouldn't have done what you did."

Mike gulped, rearing back slightly and feeling threatened by the glint of danger sparkling in the vampire's eyes.

They were all staring at them with furrowed brows, but no one said anything.

Mitchell went on "I would never tell anyone about your secret, and you should have done the same." he shrugged, flashing him a small, unfriendly smile "I don't care how good Michelle is in bed, you don't reward her with personal facts about me. Especially not if you're not completely sure that you can trust her."

Anders didn't even try to bite back the smirk that had started curving his lips, and he was actually getting hard just by listening to his lover telling his brother off like that.

Mike looked down at the counter, nibbling on his inner cheek and keeping quiet. He knew that the vampire probably wasn't done talking, so he just let him finish.

"She made allegations that didn't make sense, not even in the slightest. I am not lying, to any of you. I do not belong to any vampire gang and I am not planning to exterminate gods." Mitchell straightened back up and shrugged "If I wanted to do it, you would all be already dead. I admit that I have done some horrible things in the past, but I am not that person. Not anymore." he shook his head "So I don't want anyone else to harass me while I'm surrounded by humans who are so not ready to acknowledge the existence of monsters."

Mike finally looked back up at the vampire and nodded slowly "You're right, Mitchell. And I believe you."

Anders had to bite his tongue really hard to keep his mouth shut.

Ty had got the same hard on as his brother and for the same exact reason.

Olaf clapped a hand on the vampire's shoulder "You're a good man, Mitchell. I believe you, too." he nodded.

Mitchell flashed the oracle a faint smile and then glanced back at the god standing behind the counter.

"I owe you an apology." Mike lowered his head, he hated to admit to have done something he shouldn't have, even if he still wasn't completely sure that Mitchell really was harmless "I'm sorry for telling Michelle about you. It's right, we can hardly trust goddesses, no matter what."

Anders finally stepped ahead, stuffing his hand into the back pocket of Mitchell's jeans as he possessively tugged him closer "Looks like  _my_  vampire just kicked your godly arse." he guffawed into his older brother's face.

Olaf couldn't help but laugh as well, especially when Mike's face turned bright red. "C'mon, offer the happy supernatural couple a couple pints, they deserve it!" then he nudged his blond nephew slightly "Especially after all the workout from earlier, eh?"

Anders looked at his grandfather and laughed with him "You bet your ass we need some refreshment."

Mitchell rolled his eyes but he sniggered himself. He couldn't help but shoot Ty a glance, then he quickly looked away when he found the brunet staring at him. Anders was right, his brother definitely fancied him.

Mikkel sighed and filled five pints with the best beer he owned, so that everyone could drink the embarrassment away.

Ty didn't accept the pint, though, claiming that he was already too tired to drive and that booze wouldn't help, so he left the bar to go back home.

Mike and Olaf exchanged curious looks, Anders glared at his younger brother until he had left the bar, and Mitchell just stared down at his beer, half thoughtful, half embarrassed.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a month since Mitchell had moved in with Anders, a month and five days since he came to Auckland all the way from Bristol.

Everything had been fine, pretty much, the hunger threatened to hit him every now and then, but he had managed to get stronger and resist, also he had discovered that not only he still didn't crave Anders' blood, but the god was the only person who could make him snap back only by calling his name.

No one called him John anymore, and when Anders discovered that Mitchell was his last name he had started calling him John in particular situations, intimate ones, mostly. He would cry out a  _John_  every, now and then, during sex, thing that surprisingly turned on the vampire, even if he claimed that Mitchell should be the only way to call him, he couldn't deny that it was nice to have just one special person to call him John.

The first time that Mitchell had a bit of a crisis, was after a crazy day at work: eleven people had been involved in a really bad bus crash, and the blood surrounding Mitchell was just too much for him to hold back.

_He had phoned Anders, asking to be picked up as soon as he could, because he wasn't even able to stand still._

" _Are you alright?!" the blond's voice was nearly an octave higher than usual, as he fumbled with his jacket._

" _No, I am not. Please, you need to hurry. There's too much blood here. Too much, and I just..." the vampire bit his tongue, groaning as he felt his stomach twist painfully._

_He had asked to get off his shift a couple hours earlier because he was sick, and the state he was in had convinced Mrs Rhodes even too much._

" _Okay look, I'm on my way. You just keep calm and wait for me outside the hospital, okay?" Anders asked as he buckled himself, nearly dropping his phone._

_Mitchell didn't respond because his cramps were too bad to even let him speak, and he also needed to keep quiet if he wanted to get out of the hospital without Michelle seeing him – she was still keeping an eye on the vampire, and he knew that Mike was, too._

" _Oi, John! Answer me!" the god's voice was suddenly stronger and deeper._

_Mitchell shivered, shutting his eyes, and for a moment he felt all the pain fade, not for good, not entirely, but for a handful of seconds it did. "Y-yes... I'm almost outside." he sucked in a sharp breath._

" _Okay, I gotta hang up now, but I'll be there in the blink of an eye, eh?"_

_The vampire sucked in a shuddering breath, trying to smile at a couple porters he knew and then managed to exit the building "Yeah, just hurry."_

" _Promise. See ya."_

_Mitchell hung up and stuffed his phone into his pocket, then fished a cigarette out of the pack with shaky hands. He needed to keep as calm as possible, but no matter how hard he tried, he could still smell all that blood from there. He was so hungry, it had been too long since the last time he had a nice feed, but he needed to keep focused, stay human, because there was so much more for him than behaving like a monster. He really hoped that Anders was going to be there soon, because he was his only hope._

_A girl approached him, asking for a light, but he turned his head the other way, unable to stand the intoxicating smell of her blood and the earsplitting sound of her heartbeat. "I don't have a lighter, someone else lit mine." he growled lowly, not looking at her._

_She would have replied that she actually had seen him use his own lighter from afar, but the way he had reacted scared her, so she left, luckily unable to see his black eyes._

_Another couple of minutes and Anders abruptly stopped the SUV in front of him, opening the car door to let the vampire in and huffing when he was pulled into a bone-crushing hug. "Y'alright?" the god asked again, fingers running through unruly curls as he tried to soothe him._

_Mitchell was wheezing against the skin of the blond's neck, unable to say anything as he felt his sanity slowly starting to come back, just by being in Anders' arms "N-not so much..." he whimpered, clawing at the back of the god's jacket._

" _It's okay, Johnny-boy, I am here now." he pressed his lips to his temple, then pulled back to look at him. Seeing those black eyes had scared the life out of him the first time he had seen them, but he knew that they weren't going to stay there for long "Take a deep breath for me..." he nodded, watching those pitch black eyes blinking back to their normal, chocolate brown color "Even if you don't really need to." he added, rolling his eyes._

_Mitchell couldn't help but smile and answer with a small chuckle, taking in a deep breath as he sunk back into that soothing hug._

_Anders cradled him in his arms for as long as the brunet needed him to "Do you wanna go home, now?" he asked with all that tenderness that no one but John Mitchell knew that he was capable of._

_The vampire nodded "Yes... Let's go." he reared back, and before he could buckle himself, the god pulled him into a deep kiss._

_When they arrived at home they nearly had a heart attack because Dawn was there, sitting on one of the couches, obviously waiting for them to come back._

" _Dawn... What the hell?" Anders scowled at her, and immediately looked over at Mitchell, knowing that having a human in their flat in that very moment wasn't exactly the best._

_The vampire tensed up, widening his eyes and staring at the pale skin of the girl's neck, he could clearly see her veins pumping blood. His hands began to shake when she stood up from the couch and walked over to them, her scent was so inviting that he could have just devoured her in a moment._

" _Hi! I know, I know... I am sorry I let myself in but I have some very important documents for you!" she explained as she walked over to the dining table to get the documents "You need to sign them and bring them with you to the shop, tomorrow morning." she grabbed the folder and walked back to Anders to hand it to him._

_The blond glanced at Mitchell once again, and he was sure that he could harm the girl if she stuck around any longer "John... Get a grip." he muttered._

_The vampire blinked a few times, then looked at the god, gulping and nodding slowly._

_Anders nodded in response and then focused his attention on his PA "Dawn, love, I'll work on them later, I promise. You see, Mitchell here is very sick, he needs to get some rest, so... could you leave, please?" his voice was warmer and lower than his normal tone, as Bragi took over._

_Dawn blinked, looking a little confused at first, then a small smile curved her lips and she nodded "Yeah, sure." she looked at the brunet, frowning "I'm sorry, I hope you'll feel better soon." she went back to the couch to pick up her purse "I'll see you tomorrow, Anders." another small smile and eventually she left the flat._

_The blond turned to look at the vampire, worried sick "You okay?" he grabbed him by his leather coat._

_Mitchell was still shaking and panting "Open the windows, I-I can still smell her." he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling nauseous all of a sudden. "Fuck, I'm gonna throw up." he rushed to the bathroom, stumbling towards the toilet._

_Anders had remained frozen for a couple of seconds, then left the folder with the documents on the coffee table as he moved to open the windows just like Mitchell had asked. Once he was done he quickly went to check on the vampire, finding him slumped over the toilet. He stalked up to him and squatted, pulling off his coat to make him feel a little more comfortable "God, you look like shit." he rubbed his back soothingly._

_The only reply he got was a grunt._

_The blond sucked in a breath and licked his lips "Are you gonna be sick again?" he kept rubbing soft circles on his back._

_The vampire shook his head and spoke in a nasal voice "No... I don't think so." he finally raised his head and looked at the god._

_Anders frowned and moved his hand from the brunet's back to his cheeks, wiping off his tears "C'mon, I'll make you tea."_

_Mitchell pursed his lips and just nodded as the god helped him up._

" _I'd kiss you if you didn't stink and taste like vomit."_

_The vampire grimaced but managed to snigger "Fuck you."_

_Anders shook his head "Brush your teeth first, then we could talk about that." he smirked and patted Mitchell's ass before stepping out of the bathroom and disappearing into the kitchen._

_The brunet smiled to himself as he walked up to the sink to brush his teeth. Anders was his guardian angel, a naughty one, but still he was his savior._

During that month, while Mitchell observed the gods collecting failure after failure in their quest of finding Frigg, everyone had grown fond of him, everyone except for Mike who still couldn't trust him completely.

Olaf often liked to talk matters of the past with Mitchell, since he was the only person old enough to remember certain things. They had become good friends, and also earned themselves the nickname  _Dinos_  for obvious reasons.

Axl and Zeb would have wanted to hear him talk about the war and all the craziest fights he had with other vampires and werewolves, but since Mitchell wasn't really proud of what he had done in the past, he told them about all the different lifestyles he had to adapt to through the decades. They were always thrilled to listen to his stories and respected him for his decision to disassociate from the vampire community. Mitchell had grown quite fond of them, because they were the youngest and he couldn't help but feeling kind of like an uncle to them.

Ty had succeeded in not looking like the creepy old guy who wanted to rape him, and started being his amazingly nice and caring self. He tried to be the best friend Mitchell could have, and they both listened to each other's problems and always had a good time chatting in general. They had also decided, at one point, to start going jogging together, since Ty did it every morning and Mitchell could have used some exercise. Whenever Mitchell wasn't too tired or didn't have an early shift at the hospital, Ty would pick him up and they would go for a relaxing run by the beach.

Of course Anders was jealous and would complain every single time that Mitchell would meet his brother, no matter how many times the vampire had sworn to him that he only saw Ty as a good friend and nothing more.

To discourage his brother from hitting on his boyfriend and for a matter of territoriality, the blond had taken the habit to mark Mitchell in very visible – or not, but that was due to the heat of the moment – body parts, by having rough sex with him.

"You tied that damn rope too tightly, you twat." Mitchell glared at his gloating boyfriend as he rubbed his bruised wrists.

"Shut up, you heal as fast as Wolverine, I just want Ty to see them. Along with this." he grinned, running his fingertips over the huge, nasty bruise on the brunet's neck.

"And I am supposed to be the vampire." Mitchell rolled his eyes and slipped on his sweatpants "And stop waking me up at 5 in the morning to fuck like beasts." he muttered as he stood up.

Anders snorted "Don't tell me you didn't like it." he raised his brows, rolling on his stomach and folding his arms on the foot of the bed as he looked up at Mitchell.

The vampire scoffed "Of course I did! But... I'm so tired now! I just wanna go back to sleep!" he whined as he pulled on his hoodie.

"That's what you get for betraying me." Anders raised his brows and grinned.

Mitchell rolled his eyes "Fuck you." still he bent over to kiss the blond "Don't charm too many people at work." he smirked and left the room.

"Can't promise that!" he checked out the brunet's ass as he walked away and then leaned his head back down to get some extra sleep before heading to the office.

Mitchell stepped out of the building, sunglasses in his hand as he looked up at the sun for a moment, squeezing his eyes at its brightness. He missed being able to really enjoy the sunlight, but his eyes hurt so much that he had too look away almost instantly.

He had just put on his shades when Ty's van stopped in front of him, he smirked and bent over to speak to him through the wound down window "Y'know, I don't listen to Anders when he says that you're creepy with me but uh..." he shrugged "Driving a van doesn't really help your case."

Ty laughed "Yeah well, you're right. Wanna get in the van, little boy?" he grinned.

Mitchell sighed "Gee, I could be your grandfather." he pulled the door open and climbed into the passenger's seat.

"I am used to be around old people that look almost my age." he nodded and waited for the vampire to buckle himself before pulling the van into the road.

"Just shut up and drive, yeah?" he smirked and instinctively looked down at his wrists, the bruises were already starting to fade away, but he really didn't mind having a little reminder of the awesome sex he had had a few minutes earlier.

Ty couldn't help but notice both the rope marks and the massive hickey on his neck, and felt the familiar knot in his stomach, followed by a burning sensation rushing down his lower abdomen. "Anders' statement of today must be painful?" he asked, clearing his throat. He had started getting used to see him covered in bites, scratches and so on.

Mitchell raised his brows "Nah, they'll be gone in less than an hour." he smirked and suddenly remembered about his fingerless gloves, so he fished them from the pocket of his hoodie and pulled them on.

"Tell him that I got the message, there's no need to hurt you." he remembered how it was between himself and Eva, and he definitely hoped that his brother wasn't going down that road.

The vampire grinned "Oh but it's a good pain." he raised his brows and nodded "The worst part is that he wakes me up at like 5 am to do it." he rolled his eyes.

Ty only replied with a nervous snigger. He was already starting to get hard by just thinking about how hot Mitchell must have looked as he was suddenly woken up to have sex. He punched himself mentally and tried not to cause a car crash as they arrived to the beach.

The weather was nice, yet not too many people were around and that made jogging more pleasant, even though Mitchell just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep for a whole month.

They ran for an hour, side by side, chatting and commenting the people around them. When they stopped to drink some water, Mitchell checked the time and huffed "Man, I better go back home if I wanna get some sleep before my shift." he noticed that he had also received a text from Anders.

" _Dawn and I are discussing you and Ty jogging together. I feel very gay, right now."_

The vampire bit back a laugh, because Ty was speaking to him, so he looked up from his cellphone to listen.

"Well I can give you a lift, if you want."

Mitchell smiled "That'd be great, thank you!"

The god shrugged with a smile "It's a pleasure."

That answer made the vampire feel a bit uneasy, but he still smiled at him before texting Anders back.

" _That makes you feel gay? What about when you take it up the arse?"_

He pressed send and followed Tyrone back to the van "I was thinking..." he started, chewing his inner lip softly.

The god glanced at him with a creased brow as he pulled his keys out of his back pocket, waiting for the vampire to speak.

"Have you seen Dawn, recently?" Mitchell quirked a brow, then pulled the door of the van open.

Ty raised his brows and stopped, not entirely sure about how he should exactly answer that question "Uh, well... Not really." he blinked "Why?" he scowled, then climbed into the van.

Mitchell's phone buzzed while he did the same

" _That doesn't make me feel gay, that makes me feel fucking good."_

Again, the vampire had to bite his tongue really hard as he wrenched his eyes away from the mobile screen to look at Ty "Just 'cause..." he pursed his lips, shrugging "You still love her, right?"

The god tensed up a little, looking down at the steering wheel as he started up the engine "I do, but I already told you that we can't possibly be together." he backed the van into the road and drove towards Anders and Mitchell's place.

The vampire suddenly felt bad for reminding Ty of how he had nearly killed his ex, but he needed to know if the god was really getting over him or not "Right... Sorry. I dunno why I asked." he shrugged and went back to his cellphone.

" _Pig."_

He sent the reply and then looked back over at Ty.

The god shrugged "It's alright. I guess I am supposed to be alone, after all."

The vampire scoffed "Don't be like that, I'm sure that you'll find someone, eventually." he tried to cheer him up a little.

Ty snorted and then glanced at him "Every time I find someone, I can't have them. Or it just ends really badly." he shrugged with a sad smile and then looked back at the road.

Mitchell averted his gaze right away, looking out of the window, because he was certain that Ty was talking about him, too. He felt both bad and embarrassed, because he knew way too well how Tyrone was feeling, but being fancied by his boyfriend's brother was just too much. Suddenly his phone vibrated again, startling him a little.

" _You love it."_

The vampire smirked.

" _Hell yeah."_

Was his quick reply.

The rest of the short trip was quiet and a little awkward. Mitchell was feeling guilty for it, but it couldn't be helped, Ty needed to stop thinking about him that way.

The van stopped by the building and Ty turned to look at the vampire "Hey, I wanted to ask you something."

Mitchell unbuckled himself and raised his brows "Sure, shoot." he smiled.

Ty smiled as well, looking down at his lap for a moment, because Mitchell's smile made him feel like a crushing teenager "It's Mike's day off, today, so we were planning on hitting a club all together. Would you like to tag along?" then he quickly added, cocking his head "Anders too, of course."

The vampire pursed his lips and shrugged "Sure, why not?" he answered with a nod of his head, then cocked a brow "But I'll have to ask him, first."

The god shrugged a shoulder "Of course, just text me when you'll have the answer, eh?"

Mitchell nodded, smiling again "Will do. Thanks for the lift, Ty." he opened the door as he still faced the god.

"I told you... It's a pleasure." he didn't even hesitate as his instincts took over and made him lean in to crash his lips against the vampire's.

Mitchell froze and for a couple of seconds he was unable to do or say anything, with eyes wide open, feeling Ty's lips moving against his. When he finally found the strength to move he pulled back "Ty!" he cried out.

The god widened his eyes, touching his own lips as if he couldn't believe what he had just done "Oh God, Mitchell I am so sorry! I-I..." he panicked, looking around as if he was searching for a real life rewind button "Don't tell Anders!" he begged him.

Mitchell shook his head "N-no. No, I won't! Don't worry, it's alright!" he tried to reassure him.

"I didn't want to..." Ty shook his head "Well, I actually wanted to but... I mean-" he scoffed, freaking out.

The vampire tried to idly open the already wide opened door of the van as he still stared at the god, shocked "Look don-" he shrugged "There's no need to explain, yeah?" he sniggered nervously "We'll pretend that it never happened."

Ty managed to put on a faint smile as the vampire's words cut him like a knife "Right..." he was way too used to being rejected, that was hardly news to him. He shut his eyes and pressed his fingertips against his eyelids, sucking in a sharp breath "Fuck, I've ruined everything."

Mitchell bit his lower lip, frowning at the god's reaction "No! No, you didn't! I told you, it's okay!" he placed a hand over Ty's shoulder.

When the god turned his head to look at the vampire, their faces were dangerously close, so Mitchell quickly reared back, not wanting to encourage him more.

"I... I should go." the vampire nodded, moving his hand away from the god's shoulder.

Ty sighed "Would you still see me-" he glanced up at the ceiling, correcting himself "us, tonight?"

Mitchell shrugged "Depends on Anders and how tired we will be." he flashed him an apologetic smile, then got out of the van.

Ty watched him stumble up to the front door with creased brows, then sucked in a sharp breath as he started up the engine and drove off.

The vampire had tripped over a stair, managing only to slam against the glass door of the building instead of falling face first on the floor "Fuckin' hell!" he growled and rested his forehead against the door, trying to calm down before he unlocked it and stepped inside.

He was still processing Ty's sudden kiss and his miserable expression when he said that he was meant to be alone.

Being scared of hurting the person they loved was something they unfortunately had in common, it had been the topic they had discussed the most and for the longest time. But while Mitchell had found his person after decades of loneliness and fear, Ty was young, scared and incredibly angry with the world, and he had probably idealized Mitchell a little too much during that month.

Mitchell needed to talk to him, explain him that he cared about him and that he would have always been there for him in times of need, but he loved Anders.

Yes, he had never told the blond – and neither the god had ever mentioned those three, scary words – but Mitchell knew that he was in love with Anders, and there was nothing and no one that could have changed his mind.

He didn't think that he was actually gonna get some sleep, he had too much on his mind and he was figuring out what was the best thing he should do. He wasn't sure that going out that night would have been a smart move, maybe he didn't even have to tell Anders about the club and he should have just texted Ty to let him know that they were going to stay home. Yes, that seemed like the best thing to do.

He had just grabbed his cellphone when it suddenly went off: Anders was calling him. Mitchell scowled and answered the phone "Oi."

" _How's my marathoner? Do you need me to rub your muscles? Because I am damn good at doing so."_

The vampire smirked, shaking his head "I actually need to sleep for like a whole year, I'm gonna pass out on the job." he moved into the bedroom and dropped heavily onto the mattress.

" _Sleep is for the weak..."_ then he lowered his voice, so that Dawn couldn't hear him _"You're dead, though, dead people shouldn't get tired."_

Mitchell scoffed "Don't you have other people to bother? Did Dawn quit her job?" he groaned.

" _Nope, she's still here and sends you her love."_

The brunet closed his eyes and smiled "Bless her."

" _I'm not Jesus, but I'll do my best."_

Mitchell rolled his eyes "C'mon, let me sleep."

" _Not yet. Listen up, Mike called. He asked us to go to a club tonight with him and the others. You up for it?"_

Shit. Couldn't Mike mind his own business, every now and then?

"Uh... Actually, Ty told me the same thing. I was just gonna phone you about it." he pursed his lips "Do you really wanna go?" he sighed.

" _Sure, why not? We could get a little pissed. Make out in front of Mike and get him all uncomfortable, watch grandpa drunk dancing and then go back home. It's your day off tomorrow, innit?"_

Mitchell squeezed his eyes shut. Anders sounded really excited about that night out and he didn't want to be a party pooper. "Sounds like a plan." he lied, cursing himself mentally.

" _Perfect. I'll pick you up from work, so you don't have to walk back home, eh?"_

The vampire smiled "Aww, what a doll."

" _Jeez, you and Dawn just said the same thing, fuck the pair of you. Laters."_

The brunet laughed "Bye, darlin'."

* * *

When Mike had called Anders, earlier that day, the blond was rather surprised, since his big brother wasn't exactly a club kind of guy. He also found it a little weird that he had actually invited he and Mitchell, since they were his least favorite people. He figured that maybe Mike wanted to at least try and be nice to the vampire since, whether he liked it or not, he was becoming a member of that fucked up family. He didn't want to read too much into things, though, he just wanted to enjoy the night out, because he was sure that it was going to be a good one.

"So you're off to pick up your husband?" Dawn teased him with a smirk. She just couldn't believe that her boss had actually found someone to stick with, it was nice and amusing at the same time.

Anders grimaced "He's not my husband, what are you on about?"

The girl shrugged "This is the longest relationship you've ever had. It's pretty much like you two are married." she checked her phone and then grabbed her purse.

"I hate that you know me so well." the god rolled his eyes, moving towards the door.

"Have you told him that you love him?" she asked casually.

Anders turned his head, eyes wide open as he was still walking "What?!" he ran into the door "Shit!" he growled, holding his nose with both hands.

His PA bit back a laugh "You heard me the first time." she raised her thin brows.

The god groaned "Oh please! I am not that kinda person!" he pinched his bridge a couple of times to check if everything was alright.

"But you do love him, right?" she insisted, folding her arms over her breasts.

"Who are you? My mom? Mind your own business and go home!" the god snarled as he pulled the door opened.

She shrugged "You should tell him that you love him. He's the only person... No wait, the only  _being_  who can put up with your shit. You shouldn't let him go." that being said, Dawn walked out of the office.

Anders froze, thinking about what she had just said for some moments, then grunted "You put up with me, too. Should I marry you?" he switched off the lights and locked up the shop after he had stepped out of it.

The girl giggled "I put up with you 'cause you pay me. Don't get too excited." she shook her head "See you tomorrow, Anders."

The blond watched her leave, his mind still processing her words.  
Since when was she so interested in his romantic life, anyway?  
Maybe she wasn't, maybe she was just jealous of Mitchell for being friends with Ty. That would definitely make sense, she was just as jealous as he was.

Not that he would actually admit to be jealous, just like he would never admit to be in love with the vampire. That was too unlike him, yet he enjoyed every moment of that unlikeness. He felt happier during that month with Mitchell than he ever did in his whole life.

It suddenly hit him that the day after would have actually been a month since when he had asked him – in his own, perverted way – to be together, and for the first time in his life it was probably time to celebrate it.

Anders had arrived outside the hospital a couple of minutes earlier than he was supposed to, so he shifted in his seat to get more comfortable and turned on the radio. He glanced at the entrance of the hospital, and no matter how loudly Paul Stanley was screaming that he wanted to  _rock and roll all night and party every day_ , the blond was barely hearing that.

His mind was still replaying the conversation with Dawn over and over. He didn't know much about monogamy, hell he didn't know anything about relationships in general, but everything had been fine, so far.

He had told Mitchell that they were each other's destiny, he had asked to move in with him when they barely knew each other, they could spend hours lying in bed and doing nothing – not even have sex – and still have a great time. He had already felt, said and done things with Mitchell that he had never even thought about doing with anyone else in his entire life, so how could three words make better what was already perfect?

He shook his head at his own stream of thoughts and turned down the volume of the radio a little, before winding down the window. He lit up a cigarette, taking a deep drag and letting the smoke fill up his lungs, enjoying its relaxing effect. He shut his eyes, telling himself that he had to stop thinking that much, he needed to be casual and natural, his usual self, because Mitchell liked him that way.

"Any chance I can get a ride from this handsome Norse god?"

That familiar, sexy Irish accent was followed by the sound of an opening and then closing door, making the blond smirk and open his eyes "Hiya."

The vampire scowled "Were you sleeping?"

The god shook his head, taking in another drag of cigarette "No, just relaxing."

The brunet pursed his lips "Alright." he leaned in to press a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek.

Anders furrowed his brows and flicked the fag out of the window "What the fuck was that?" he asked, looking outraged.

Mitchell arched a brow, looking at him puzzled "Huh?"

The god sniggered, placing his hand on the back of the vampire's head "Greet me properly."

The brunet grinned "Greedy bastard." he closed the distance between their mouths, crashing their lips together. He remembered about Ty's kiss for a moment, Hod's lips were even colder than his vampiric ones. He punched himself mentally and pulled back for a moment to look at Anders, as if he needed to make sure that he was kissing him and not his brother.

The blond quirked a brow "What's with you and crappy kisses, this evening?"

The vampire scoffed "Asshole. I just wanted to look at you." he rolled his eyes.

"What? Why?" Anders pulled a face, his fingers still tangled between dark curls.

Mitchell raised his brows "Because you're beautiful?" he shrugged, and that might not have been the actual reason why he had broken the kiss, but he wasn't lying.

Anders' eyes were wide open as he realized that it was the first time the vampire had actually told him that. Of course he had always complimented his looks with various adjectives, but it was the first actual time that he had ever told him he was beautiful. No one had ever said that to him, and if they did it could have been because they were under Bragi's spell, and not because they really meant it.

"Fuck off!" the god rolled his eyes, unaware of his flushing cheeks.

Mitchell widened his eyes, shocked "Oh... My... God."

The blond sighed "I told you a thousand times before, just call me Anders." of course he would joke to cover up his embarrassment.

"I made you blush. This is the first fucking time! I am amazing!" the vampire pumped his fist in the air, victorious.

Anders scoffed "Piss off, I'm not blushing! I don't blush!" he cried out, his voice highly pitched.

The vampire was still gloating as he threw himself onto the blond's lap, making him huff and accidentally honking the horn with his butt in the process of leaning in to smother Anders in kisses.

They were both laughing like a pair of idiots, lips and tongues meeting briefly as the god tugged on Mitchell's coat "Go back to your seat, you prick!" he laughed as he kissed him back for the umpteenth time.

The brunet nibbled on the god's lower lip, pulling at it softly "Okay, but I'm hungry, can we get some pizza? Or Burger King, or McDonald's, or whatever?" he licked the tip of the blond's nose.

Anders scrunched up his nose and nodded, smiling "Yes, you big baby. Whatever you want. Just get off me!" he groped the vampire's ass and gave it a firm squeeze.

Mitchell gasped "You always say the contrary." he grinned.

The god rolled his eyes and pecked at the brunet's lips one last time "I can't drive and nail you at the same time."

The vampire shrugged "You could if you were the god of driving." he reared back, honking the horn again as he moved back to his seat, sniggering.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Anders bursted out laughing.

"C'mon, let's just get out of here!" the brunet nudged him, still laughing, and buckled himself.

* * *

When the god and the vampire arrived fashionably late at the club, Olaf was already drunk and pulled both of them in a bone-crushing hug as soon as he spotted them "The beautiful couple! Oh, I love these two! Their love makes me so happy!" he slurred, then placed a sloppy kiss on each of their mouths.

Both Anders and Mitchell widened their eyes, shocked, but the brunet couldn't help the fit of laughter he broke into, as soon as the oracle let go of them to turn around and throw his fists in the air "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return!" he shouted over the music, then pushed his way through the crowd to reach the dance floor.

Axl and Zeb were laughing uncontrollably as they approached the couple.

"He just quoted Moulin Rouge!" Axl barked with laughter as he slumped over his best friend's shoulder.

"What the fuck is wrong with him?" Anders was still wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket.

"That's definitely the best way to start off the night." Mitchell was still laughing as he greeted the boys with a hug "You alright, guys?" he patted Zeb's back. He was particularly fond of him, mainly because he was the geekier one of the pair, who suffered terribly for being awkward and not so good looking, so the vampire couldn't help but unleash his protective and fatherly side on him.

"Great mate, great!" Zeb grinned, always trying to act cool around Mitchell, and maybe he had a little man crush on him, too, for being so great and kind of heroic in his eyes.

"All good, all good." Axl smiled and then proceeded to hug his big brother.

Anders hugged him back with a smile "All hail, Odin!" he sniggered. When they broke apart, the blond arched a brow, taking a look around "Where's everyone else?"

"Uh, Mike and Michelle are going to be here in a couple minutes. They had to pick up a friend of Michelle's or something." his little brother shrugged, then gestured in the direction of the toilet "Ty's just stepping out of the loo, see?"

Both Mitchell and Anders turned to look in the direction that Axl had pointed out, and the vampire immediately felt like running away.

"Oi, Ice Age!" Anders smirked "Were you on a small wank break?"

Ty glanced at Mitchell for a moment, then glared at Anders "I don't know how Mitchell can handle living with you." he shook his head and walked up to them. He was glad that he couldn't blush, because in that moment he was so embarrassed that he would have probably turned purple.

Mitchell didn't say anything, he just stuffed his hands into his pockets and shifted closer to his boyfriend.

"That would be because Mitch's a pro at handling things. You have no idea how good he is." he grinned, knowing how much that could piss his brother off.

"Shut up!" the vampire nudged him with raised brows, he accurately avoided Ty's gaze, and then glared at Axl and Zeb for giggling like a couple of sixth graders at Anders' joke.

Ty gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, keeping himself from punching his older brother square in his smug face.

"Let's go get some drinks, boys." Mitchell clapped a hand on Zeb's shoulder and the other on Axl's back "Try not to fight, you two." his gaze wandered from Anders to Ty, then back to the blond.

"Get me a vodka martini, will you?" he placed a hand over Mitchell's chest.

"Sure, we'll be right back." the vampire nodded, then pressed a kiss to Anders' lips "Behave." he whispered.

The blond smirked "You too." he spanked him and then watched as he and the kids strolled towards the bar. He sighed with a content smile as he looked back at his brother "He's mine, no matter how intensely you're glaring at me." he shrugged, then his whole body shuddered at the sudden temperature drop.

"I know damn well he is, but he's too good for you. I know you're gonna hurt him, sooner or later." Ty growled lowly, still glaring a hole into his brother's skull.

Anders arched a brow "Ouch, that's cold." he smirked and wrapped his arms around his own chest, still feeling cold "I won't fuck up and not only 'cause I care about him, but also 'cause you wanna nail him and I won't let you do that." he shrugged.

Ty would have been ready to take the fight to a further step if Mike and Michelle hadn't arrived from behind Anders.

"Hello, boys." Mikkel smiled, a smile that didn't look exactly genuine.

"Hey guys, allow me to introduce to you my new friend, Helen." Michelle grinned, stepping aside to let the tall, fair haired woman behind her step ahead.

Ty widened his eyes in complete shock as he recognized her. He couldn't believe it, Mike and Michelle had really gone that far with their plan of getting rid of Mitchell?  
He shot Anders a glance and saw exactly what he feared to see.

Anders was gaping at the woman, staring at her as if his life depended on it.

"Ty! I nearly didn't believe it when Michelle told me that you're Mike's brother!" Helen smiled at him.

"And this is my other brother, the one we told you about: Anders." Mike gestured towards his younger brother.

Helen looked at him and froze, giving him the same amazed expression he was sporting.

Mike and Michelle exchanged a glance and a small smirk, then proceeded to make their way to the bar.

Ty placed a hand on Anders' shoulder right away, squeezing it "Anders, focus!" he tried to warn him, even if it was already too late.

The blond scowled, turning to look at his brother and slap his hand away "Fuck off!"

The woman wrapped her fingers around Anders' wrist "I didn't think you were  _this_  handsome." she smirked.

Anders grinned at her, his perverted self kicking in as his brain shut off completely. Every cell of his body was longing for the woman, the crotch of his pants already about to explode. He pulled her into a rough kiss and they stumbled towards the toilet together, in a sudden rush of passion.

"Fuck!" Ty cried out as he took a look around, his chest heaving as his breath itched suddenly.

Michelle and Mike had found Idunn to end Anders and Mitchell's relationship, they still thought that the vampire was a threat to the family and even worse, they still thought that he was a threat to the whole godly race.

He didn't know what to do, there was absolutely no way that Mitchell wouldn't find out what was going on. He needed to come up with something, a way to make Helen leave Anders alone for good. Olaf was probably the only one who could help, but as usual he was too drunk to be useful.

It was just while Ty was freaking out that Mitchell, Axl and Zeb came back with drinks in their hands.

"Hey, where's Anders?" the vampire scowled.

Ty looked at him shocked "Nowhere! I mean... In the loo, he's using the loo." he nodded a little too vigorously.

Mitchell pursed his lips "Alright, I need to use it too, I might as well join him." he smirked and handed Tyrone the glasses.

"No! Wait! Don't go!" Ty cried out, dropping the drinks.

Mitchell widened his eyes, looking at the shattered glasses on the floor "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he looked up at Ty as if he had lost his mind.

"Please, trust me. You don't wanna go in there." the god insisted.

The vampire scowled "I'm pretty sure I've seen a lot of dirty toilets, I can handle this one, too." he nodded and walked up to the loo. He pulled the door open and froze at the scene that was presented to him.

Anders had Helen bent over the sink while he pounded wildly into her from behind. The god didn't even recognize him at first, so he just snarled "Don't you know how to fucking knock?!"

Mitchell was still staring at him with the most shocked expression he had ever pulled in his entire life.

The blond stopped, his hands still gripping firmly at the goddess' hips and his jaw dropped "M-Mitchell... I-I..." the moment in which he recognized his boyfriend the unconditional attraction to Idunn faded away.

The vampire shook his head "Don't... Just don't... Say my name. Don't say it." he stepped back and slammed the door so hard that the walls shook.

Ty, Axl and Zeb were staring at him while he stormed towards the exit of the club.

"What's happened?!" Axl scowled.

"Are you alright, man?" Zeb looked from the door of the toilet to the vampire.

"Mitchell!" Ty tried to run after him.

Mitchell stopped abruptly, causing Tyrone to bump into him "Leave me alone." he turned to look at him with pitch black eyes.

The god took a step back, scared, but then shook his head "Don't do stupid things, Mitchell. It's not what you think."

"He's screwing her in the damn toilet, it's exactly what I think!" he snarled, pointing at the loo. His eyes were still black and his whole body was shaking with rage. "Now leave me alone, before I hurt you." he flared his nostrils and stalked out of the club, furious.

Axl and Zeb ran up to Ty "What the fuck was that?!" the taller one asked.

"Mike and Michelle... They found Idunn." Ty glanced at the toilet where his brother was still probably banging the goddess.

"Oh... Don't tell me she's in there with Anders." Axl covered his eyes with a hand.

"If you want me to lie to you." his brother shrugged.

"Fuck, why did they do that?" Zeb's stomach clenched, he didn't like to think that they were going to lose Mitchell like that.

"They want to get rid of Mitchell." Axl explained briefly with a sigh.

Ty looked over at the exit of the club "He's gonna kill, I know it."

"We gotta stop him, Ty! We can't just let him kill innocent people! That would only prove Michelle and Mike right!" Axl tilted his head, trying to keep his voice low, not to be heard from other people.

"Are you insane? He's too dangerous right now, and he wouldn't listen!" Ty insisted.

"But you're the god of darkness, maybe he'll listen to you!" Zeb cut in all of a sudden.

Axl and Ty looked at him with raised brows.

"That would make sense..." the younger Johnson nodded, then looked over at the toilet "Shouldn't we... Get him out or something?"

Ty grimaced "His attraction to Idunn is irrational, she's Bragi's wife and there's no way we'll pull them apart right now." he explained, rolling his eyes "But we do need to get rid of her, somehow." he added with a nod.

The boys nodded and Axl jerked his head towards the front door "Let's go find Mitchell, now."

"Yeah but... Zeb should stay here. Mitchell could attack him." he shot him an apologetic look, then added "Actually, you should stay, too, Axl. You need to talk to both Anders and Mike."

His brother rolled his eyes but then nodded, reluctantly "Okay. But call me if you need help, eh?"

Ty nodded "Will do." that being said he rushed to the exit, hoping that it wasn't too late, already.


	8. Chapter 8

  
_It's an ache that never heals_  
 _It's the deepest cut you feel_  
 _It's the thing in you that feeds  
T_ _he animal in me._   


  
_It's the darker side of lust_ ****_  
_ _It's the other side of us_ ****__  
_It's the thing in you that feeds  
_ _The animal in me._   


  
_**The animal in me,** _ _**by Motley Crue.** _   


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* * *

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Mitchell's humanity was long forgotten as he sunk his teeth into the neck of the young girl he had pinned against the wall of a back alley. His fangs weren't just piercing her flesh, he was so furious and hungry that he had slashed her throat completely.

Blood was gushing out lavishly against Mitchell's open mouth, and he was moaning at the delicious taste as he sucked and lapped at the precious nectar. He could still hear the faint gurgling sounds the girl was making, her strangled cries and whimpers. She wriggled for what seemed to her like an eternity, as the vampire feasted on her blood, until she hissed out a final breath.

He felt no guilt, no regret, only an incommensurable pleasure that had even made the crotch of his pants too tight to contain him, as he licked her deadly wound clean.

The warm blood rushing through his body gave him new strength, fueling his anger but not quenching his thirst just yet. He needed more, he wanted to cause pain, make people suffer, kill, he wanted to forget the image of Anders betrayal, still too vivid in his memory, he wanted the god to feel guilty for unleashing a vampire's wrath on innocent humans, he wanted Anders to be in as much pain as he was, or even more.

He let the blood drained corpse fall to the ground, then studied it in the darkness of the alley. He nudged the girl's face with the tip of his boot to get a better look at her face and cocked his head when he recognized her: she was the girl that a month ago had hit on him in a pub.

The same girl that Anders had forced to leave Mitchell alone with his godly powers, the girl that the vampire would have probably killed that night. So that had been her destiny, after all, she was bound to be killed by the guy she had tried to pull.

Mitchell repeated the word  _destiny_  in his mind and a sudden shiver ran up his spine, making his insides twist until he was retching blood and bile not too far from the dead girl's fancy shoes.

His conscience came back like a slap across the face, a punch in the stomach, he stared down at the innocent young woman he had just killed and dropped to his knees, not even trying to choke back his tears and sobs.

He wanted to blame his actions on his broken heart, on the man who cheated on him while they were out together with his family, he tried to justify his actions but in the end he knew that he was just a monster, a murderer, and he had enjoyed drinking that girl dead.

Mitchell pulled the girl into his arms, cradling her as he cried and whispered that he was sorry, so sorry.

"Mitchell! God, here you are! Are you alright?!"

The vampire froze, perking up but still not turning his head., he squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in a sharp breath as he recognized that voice. "Will you Johnsons ever leave me alone?" he asked in a shuddering voice.

Ty hadn't seen the dead body slumped into Mitchell's arms, there wasn't enough light "I know you're angry and hurt, I am here to help you."

The vampire's head snapped into the god's direction "Oh, of course! Behold the mighty Hod! Savior of all the lost boys!" he glared at him.

This time, Ty was finally able to see how his mouth and chin were covered in dried up blood "Oh fuck, no!" he fell to his knees next to the vampire, checking for the girl's pulse.

Mitchell scoffed and threw his head back "Does she look alive to you?" he cried out, looking at him with red eyes, his face wet with tears.

The god flared his nostrils, looking over at Mitchell "Why?" he shook his head and tried to gulp down the lump that had formed in his throat.

"'Cause I am a monster, is it so hard to understand?" he choked on his words and looked down at the girl, brushing a few wavy locks away from her cold face.

The god closed his eyes for a few moments and shook his head "You're cursed, you'd never do this if you weren't." he sighed.

Mitchell slowly turned his head to look at him "Still it isn't an excuse, I killed her because I'm angry with your brother, she had nothing to do with it." his voice was almost a whisper, eyes frantically wandering around.

Ty let out a sharp breath and cupped the vampire's face, trying to make him focus "Look at me, Mitchell!" he flared his nostrils as he finally got Mitchell's attention "You shouldn't have done this. It's a stupid, useless thing that you've done but now you need to calm down, okay?" he raised his brows, waiting for an answer. He was trying to ignore the fact that there was a dead person on the ground, but he was also hoping that Mitchell wouldn't snap and kill him next.

The vampire let his eyes drop shut as he leaned against the much needed soothing touch of the god "It hurts so much." he gulped "I... Am so hurt and... So angry."

Ty bit his lower lip when Mitchell leaned against his hands like that, but at the same time his heart clenched as he listened to his broken voice. "I know you are, and we're going to fix this... But you can't kill people to make it better."

Mitchell's eyes snapped open "You think I don't know that?" he scoffed "It's a curse, yes. It makes me lose control completely, it turns me into some beast that doesn't care about the screaming, the begging, the fighting." he shook his head, pulling Ty's hands away from his face "All I care about in that moment is the blood. Its taste, its warmth... The way it makes me feel so good." then he looked down at his victim "But I come back almost right away, and I regret it all."

Ty listened carefully, imagining how hard and horrible it must have been for Mitchell to deal with his condition. He knew that the vampire wasn't done talking, yet, so he kept quiet.

"Anders was giving me a reason to hang on, he was the person who made me stronger and helped me stay on the wagon for a whole month." his nostrils quivered and his lips curled as he tried to hold back his tears, sucking in a shuddering breath through his nose "But he doesn't really give a shit about me." he clenched his fists, nails digging into the fabric of his gloves "I was away for ten minutes. Ten fucking minutes!" he cried out.

Ty couldn't bring himself to look at Mitchell in that state, it was the first time that he had seen him like that and it hurt like hell. He wanted to hold him, tell him that everything was going to be okay and take care of him, but he also knew that his brother really did love him because he had changed a lot during that month with Mitchell. He was sure that Anders wouldn't have cheated on his man if Helen wasn't Idunn, and the banter from earlier that night was just Ty being jealous of his brother for having it all. He needed to explain everything to Mitchell, but that wasn't the right moment, not with a dead lady lying on the ground, not in a dark alley, so he placed his hand over the vampire's and squeezed it "He does, I know he does. It's complicated." he nodded "I'll explain everything to you, I promise. But the girl needs to be taken care of." he sighed. Never in his life he thought that he would have had to move a body again, once had been enough, but he couldn't chicken out and abandon Mitchell, he needed him, he was too fragile and he was sure that he could have killed again, if left alone.

The vampire sighed and looked down at the girl, she was so beautiful and looked so peaceful that it made him feel sick all over again "I don't want you to be involved in this, Ty." he wrenched his eyes from the cadaver to look at the god.

Ty sighed "Bit too late for that, eh?" his lips curved in a faint smile as he gave another squeeze to the vampire's hand "I'll go get the van, is not too far from here."

Mitchell nodded and watched the god disappear on the main street, he sighed and tried to remove the dried up blood from his face with the hem of his shirt.

Mitchell was obviously used to move corpses when it was needed, even if he had stopped the moment he, Herrick and the rest of the clan had nested in Bristol, there was just no need for it at that point, since vampires had started working in positions of high authority to cover up the killings. Though he was surprised to acknowledge that it wasn't Ty's first time, either, but they hadn't talked about it until they had dropped the girl's body off a ravine, and the god mentioned that it was exactly what he had done when he had to get rid of his ex wife's corpse.

"You were married and... You killed your wife?" the vampire widened his eyes, incredulous.

"No! It wasn't me! I didn't kill her..." he shook his head "It was my mother." he sighed, not exactly happy to remember.

"I thought your mother was dead?" Mitchell scowled, more and more puzzled.

Ty rolled his eyes "She died after that. It was a punishment, for killing another goddess." he explained briefly.

"So you were married to a goddess?" the vampire blinked, still not getting it.

The god groaned "Can we not talk about this? And I wasn't even in love with her, it was something I had to do... To save Mike's life." he shook his head.

Mitchell stared at him as if he had spoken in another language "...What?"

The god huffed "Leave it, eh? Let's get outta here. Quickly." he turned around and headed back to the van, followed by the ever so confused vampire.

Once they were both inside the vehicle, Mitchell rested his head back and let his eyelids drop shut, biting his lip. In the heat of the moment he had nearly forgotten about Anders and everything that had happened back at the club "I can't go home." he shook his head as he idly scratched the fabric of his jeans.

Ty turned to look at him "Hey, you can crash at my place, if you want." he offered with a shrug. He didn't know if it was safe to have Mitchell in the house, and he didn't know if he would have been able to hold back his instincts if he had him around.

The vampire opened his eyes and looked at him "Really?" he pursed his lips "Will you grab my stuff from Anders' in the morning?" his voice broke as he finished the sentence.

The god frowned and nodded "Sure..." he wanted to wipe away the stray tear that had suddenly streamed down Mitchell's cheek, but he restrained from doing so and only focused on driving back home.

They kept silent during the whole trip, the only noises that Ty would hear sometimes were those of Mitchell's choked back sobs or shuddering breaths. It was heartbreaking, but it was the vampire's right to grieve over what he was going through.

Ty parked the van by his house and shut it down, unbuckling himself and realizing that Mitchell had fallen asleep with his forehead pressed against the window. He smiled softly and unbuckled him before placing a hand over his shoulder "Mitchell... We're home."

The vampire blinked his eyes opened and looked out of the window before turning to look at Ty "How the hell have I managed to fall asleep?" he muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair.

The god shrugged "Crying is exhausting."

Mitchell pursed his lips but didn't say anything, he just nodded before he got out of the van.

Once Ty had climbed out of it as well and locked it up, he walked over to the front door and unlocked it, stepping inside and flicking on the lights.

Mitchell just stayed on the threshold, glaring a hole into Ty's back "Oi, you gotta invite me in." he sighed.

The god turned around with creased brows "Huh?"

The vampire rolled his eyes "Vampires can't enter a private building unless they're invited."

Ty blinked "Are you serious? I thought that was made up like... The fact that you turn to dust in the sunlight."

Mitchell groaned, throwing his head back "Some movies are more accurate than others, now would you invite me in? Or do I have to sleep on the doorstep?" he flared his nostrils.

The god shrugged and spread his arms "Come in?"

The vampire was finally able to step inside and shut the door behind his back "It wasn't that hard, was it?" he raised his brows, sarcastically.

Ty just shook his head, ignoring Mitchell's cockiness and gestured towards the couch "I'll sleep here, you can sleep in my bed."

Mitchell scowled "Nonsense, I'll sleep on the couch, it's your house." he pulled off his coat and hung it on the rack before he stalked up to the couch in order to plop down on it.

The god smirked and pulled off his own jacket, leaving it on the back of a chair "I just want you to sleep in a warm bed." he walked up to the couch and sat next to the vampire. "I don't get cold, but you definitely do." he shrugged.

Mitchell pursed his lips and looked at him "You're too good with me, Ty. I don't deserve it." he shook his head.

"Why don't you let me decide that?" Ty raised a brow and then sighed "Plus, my brother just broke your heart and I feel kinda responsible." he added, tilting his head.

The vampire frowned "I don't see why you should." he shrugged "He was the one banging the chick in the toilet."

The god squeezed his eyes shut for a moment "Yeah but... I wasn't able to change his mind."

Mitchell narrowed his eyes at him "Sorry... What does that mean?" he flared his nostrils.

Ty looked down for a moment "That woman, she wasn't just any chick." he looked back up at the vampire "She's Idunn."

The vampire widened his eyes and his jaw dropped.

"I tried to make him reason, warning him that he was about to do something that he would regret, but he didn't listen." he hunched his shoulders "It was too late, they just... I don't know, they just sort of jumped at each other and-" he would have gone on with his awkward explanation, but Mitchell raised his hands, stopping him.

"Shut up! Just... Shut the fuck up. I don't wanna know what they did!" he nearly shouted.

Ty stared at him wide eyed, then looked away "I-I'm sorry... I should have kept the details to myself." he muttered embarrassed.

The vampire was staring blankly at the floor, shaking his head "So that's it... They found each other, and now I'm just... I'm nothing." he looked at Ty "I'm nothing. She's his destiny... I mean, what were the odds?" his voice was breaking again, just like his eyes were filling up with tears all over again.

As soon as Ty saw the tears streaming down Mitchell's face, the most natural thing he felt like doing was pulling him into a tight embrace "Stop it, you're far from being nothing! It's just... It's the god in him that is attracted to her." he explained as he stroked the vampire's back.

Mitchell sunk into the hug, his shoulders trembling as he sobbed quietly. He was listening to Ty, yet he couldn't just see the good in his words. Bragi had found his Idunn, there was nothing he could do to get Anders back. "He got what he wanted from me, and now he's found his damn wife so he can finally be happy and not have to deal with a stupid blood junkie." he gulped and squeezed his eyes shut as he thought about the man he loved in a mess of limbs and sheets on their bed with someone else "She's sleeping in our bed, tonight! I don't even have my own place anymore!" he cried out as he clawed at Ty's shirt.

The god was seriously struggling to keep calm and not do things that he would have regretted, but Mitchell's arms felt so good around his shoulders, just like his shuddering breath against his bare neck. "Th-that's why you should sleep in my bed." those weren't the words he was supposed to say, he should have told him that they were going to fix everything, that Anders loved him, that it was only Mike's and Michelle's fault if Bragi had found Idunn and that it wasn't really a matter of destiny, not like that.

The vampire reared back to stare into those icy eyes, still so fragile, hurt and thirsty for revenge that he definitely couldn't think of a better way to quench his pain, obviously not considering how much it was going to hurt later. "I should..." he bit his lower lip "You're right."

This time when Ty captured Mitchell's lips into a deep, rough kiss, the vampire didn't pull back, he responded to it with the same roughness, as he moved to straddle the god's lap. Mitchell didn't care about the fact that he wasn't even hard, he just wanted to empty his mind and get back at Anders, as he rocked his hips down into the bulge of Ty's crotch.

* * *

Zeb and Axl were in a corner, sipping nervously on the drinks that Mitchell had insisted on buying them, wondering if Ty was safe and if the vampire had succeeded in killing anyone.

"I should call him." Axl shook his head and pulled his cellphone out of the pocket of his jeans.

"No, mate. Leave him be, he would have called if he needed us." his friend placed a hand over his arm to keep him from doing it.

The god looked at him dead in the eyes "Well, you know... If he died he wouldn't be able to call me."

At that point the shorter guy scoffed "But he would totally answer  _your_  call, if he was dead, right?" he arched a brow and fixed the fedora on his head.

Axl pursed his lips and then rolled his eyes "Whatever." he pushed the cellphone back into his pocket and then eyed the door of the toilet "For how long are they gonna do it, for Christ's sake?" he grimaced.

His friend shrugged, taking another sip of beer "Dunno, man. If I had the chance to tap that, I'd never stop." he shook his head.

Axl furrowed his brows "I don't even know if you're talking about Anders or Helen." he blinked.

Zeb widened his eyes "Of course I was talking about Helen!" he cried out "What are you on about?" he took a big gulp of ale and then burped.

"No, you're right. You'd snog my brother's boyfriend." he bit back a smirk, taking a swig from his own pint.

Zeb flared his nostrils, getting mad all of a sudden "Hey! He's just a really cool guy, okay? He always know how to make me feel better, when I'm down. I don't wanna snog him." he shook his head "Also, don't talk about him like that, not after what just happened." he said as he lowered his voice and looked down at the floor, still covered in shattered glasses and booze.

It was rare to see Zeb so passionate about something, so enraged, and Axl couldn't help but feel bad for making fun of him like that "I know that he's important to you, sorry..." he pursed his lips, staring down into the half empty glass of beer. "Do you think we can fix this?"

The shorter boy looked up at him and shrugged a shoulder "I don't know, but we have to try." he cocked his head "But you're Odin, you know? You should be able to fix the other gods' problems."

Axl scoffed, tilting his head back "Right, I'm such a powerful god!" he shook his head "I don't think we'll be able to get Idunn to fuck off." he sighed.

Finally the door they had been checking for the past hour and a half cracked open, and the boys could clearly see Anders and Helen kissing and chuckling like lovebirds until they stumbled out of the toilet.

"Oh boy, here we go." Axl sucked in a deep breath and squared his shoulders as his brother and Helen walked up to them, all flustered and with ruffled hair.

"You'll never guess who she is!" Anders had cupped the side of his own mouth as he spoke softly to his little brother.

Axl and Zeb exchanged an annoyed look and then the taller guy rolled his eyes "She's Idunn, we know."

Helen giggled as she clung to her beloved's arm, merrier than ever.

Anders broke into sniggers and nodded vigorously as he looked up at his brother with bright eyes "Isn't it fork-... Fer-..." he furrowed his brows and bit back a laugh.

The younger Johnson widened his eyes "Are you high?"

Both his brother and Helen bursted out laughing, and Anders squeezed one eye shut "A teeeeny, tiiiny, wee bit?" he sucked in his lower lip and then chuckled again.

Zeb palmed his face so hard that he nearly dropped his pint of lager.

Axl shook his head, incredulous, then glanced over at Helen "Listen, uh... Michelle's looking for you. Zeb's gonna walk you to the bar." he looked back at his friend "Right Zeb?"

The guy raised his brows and shrugged "I guess?"

Axl forced a grin and nodded "Good boy, now off you go." he handed his friend his own empty glass and patted on his shoulder.

Helen was so happy to go get a drink that she almost tripped over Anders' foot to rush over to Zeb and walk with him to the bar.

"Ow!" the older Johnson raised his foot for a moment and glared at the woman, then glanced up at his abnormally tall little brother "Why is Zeb walking her to the bar? I am Bragi, he's just a poor excuse for a human being." he scrunched his face.

Axl flared his nostrils, insulting his best friend was the last straw, he punched his brother square in the jaw and sent him flying against the nearest wall "'Cause you're a dickhead and she's not the person you're committed to, you dipshit!" he snarled, pointing in the general direction of the bar.

Luckily enough the music was too loud for people to notice what was going on, or else Helen would have probably come rushing to her Bragi's side.

Anders was lying on the floor, moaning and holding his face with both hands "You are an arsehole! Fuck!" he cried out.

Axl walked up to him and roughly pulled him back up on his feet "What fucking drugs did you take?" he growled through gritted teeth.

Anders glared at him as he massaged his jaw with his right hand "Why don't you fuck off?" he spat and tried to wriggle away from his little brother's strong grip.

The younger Johnson raised his brows "Do I need to remind you that I am Odin and you have to answer me?" he tightened the grip on his brother's arm, probably hard enough to bruise it.

Anders groaned "Couple lines of coke, she had it. Why the fuck do you care, though? Sex and drugs go together perfectly, have you not listened to any rock 'n' roll song, baby brother?" again he tried to shake Axl's hand off, idly.

Axl flared his nostrils and released Anders' arm only to fist at the collar of his shirt "Do you even recall that you have a boyfriend, Anders? Or maybe I should say  _had_?"

The shorted man froze all of a sudden at his brother's words, the look in his eyes switching from arrogance to utter terror in a matter of moments "Where... Where is he?" he looked around frantically as Idunn's spell was broken and the real Anders snapped back.

Axl let go of him and clenched his jaw "He's gone. Did you expect him to be here to drive you home?"

The older Johnson gulped and ran both hands through his short hair "Oh fuck, what have I done?" his voice was nearly a whisper as he scratched the back of his head, panicking.

His brother shrugged "Mike and Michelle fucked you...  _Heaps_." he nodded slowly as he folded his arms across his chest.

Anders furrowed his brows "Shit, they knew she was Idunn and they brought her here to break Mitch and I up!" his mouth hung open as he was finally able to do the math, no matter the drug in his system.

Axl scoffed "No shit, Sherlock." he rolled his eyes.

Anders would have glared at his brother, hadn't he been so concerned about Mitchell "But where is he? Has he gone home?" he grasped at the sleeves of Axl's shirt "I need to see him!"

His brother pursed his lips "He ran away nearly two hours ago, Ty went after him. He had black eyes, Anders." he sighed.

Anders widened his eyes as he processed his brother's words "Fuck, I triggered him..." he squeezed his eyes shut for a couple of seconds, then snapped them back open "Why Ty, though? He wants to fuck him more than anything on this planet!" he growled.

"Well someone had to go after him, and someone else needed to stay here to keep an eye on you." Axl spread his arms "And I gotta admit that I'd rather be going after a rampaging vampire right now, than deal with your drugged up arse." he snorted.

Anders flared his nostrils "I gotta find him." he had just turned around to storm out of the club when his brother clasped a hand around his shoulder, yanking him back.

"No, Anders! You'd just make it worse, right now. Plus you don't even know where they are!" he gave his brother's shoulder a squeeze "Ty's supposed to call me, maybe you'll see him tomorrow." he sighed.

Anders gritted his teeth and looked away, feeling like a complete idiot "I had just told Tyrone that I wasn't gonna fuck things up with John..." he shook his head "This is the first time I know how he must feel."

Axl frowned, his hand still resting over his brother's shoulder "What do you mean?" he blinked, puzzled.

The older Johnson scoffed "Being Bragi has never sucked before tonight." he licked his lips and shrugged as he looked up at his brother.

The younger boy raised his brows "Oh my God..."

Anders furrowed his brows "What?"

"He really did change you, after all." a shocked expression plastered on his face.

Anders groaned, throwing his head back "Spare me, I'm not in the mood to be made fun of." he whined.

"But I'm not! You'd never say anything like this if you weren't in love with Mitchell! His love is turning you into a better person." Axl smiled, placing both hands on his brother's cheeks "I am proud of you, as your brother  _and_ as Odin!"

Anders' face flushed slightly and he looked down at his feet "Fuck off!" he playfully shoved his brother and slapped his hands away.

Axl laughed and pulled him into a tight hug. Maybe they really had a chance to fix everything and get rid of Idunn, finally he was getting positive feelings about that situation... Until Mike, Michelle, Zeb and Helen came back, ruining the merry brotherly moment.

"Anders, why don't we go back to your place? I really need to lay down..." the woman literally yanked him away from his brother's hug and wrapped her arms around his neck.

And in that moment Anders was helpless again, bound to Idunn's will as soon as she bat her lashes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "S-sure..." he bit his lower lip and then grinned when the woman started whispering filth into his ear "Okay, okay. We're calling it a night! See ya!" Anders sniggered and rushed away with Helen.

Axl watched them leave incredulous, then turned to Mike "Why the fuck did you do this? You just ruined the only good thing for Anders. Do you realize that he was actually turning into a decent person?"

Zeb was glaring a hole into Michelle's skull and she was flashing him a crooked, challenging smirk.

Mikkel arched a brow "I did it for our family  _and_  race. A vampire is a threat to everyone. What if he killed you? It'd be a catastrophe!"

Axl scoffed "Oh please! Mitchell would never do that!"

Michelle cut in, this time "Oh right, 'cause he's your little friend?" she cocked her head "Axl, is about time you grow up and learn that not everyone is really a friend."

The taller guy raised his brows "Believe me I know, and you're one of those people."

Zeb had to bite his tongue not to shout out an  _'Oh, burn!',_ and both Mike and Michelle stared at Axl outraged.

"You all seem to forget that I am Odin, your one and only ruler. I am not done with you two." he pointed a threatening finger at the both of them, then jerked his head towards the exit "Let's go, Zeb."

"Odin and Freki out, bitches!" Zeb saluted them and quickly left the club with his best friend.

Mike shook his head as he watched them leave "I'm gonna go get grandpa from wherever he is and then we're going home."

Michelle just rolled her eyes, so done with the Johnson family.

* * *

Mitchell and Ty had clumsily made it to the bedroom after a quick and rough make-out session on the couch. The vampire still couldn't get over how cold the god's touch could get, and sometimes he needed to remind him to move his hands away or he would have frozen him.

Deep inside they both knew that they were making a huge mistake, but Ty was far too gone for Mitchell, just like Mitchell was enjoying his empty mind too much.

It didn't take them long to end up in a mess of limbs, sweat and sheets, and as the vampire rode the god, his eyes casually dropped on his branded chest "W-what's that?" he flared his nostrils and reached down a little to brush his fingers over the embossed letters on his pale skin.

Ty was holding him by his hips from above the sheets – the only way for him to grip at him without frostbiting him – "Huh?" his heavy-lidded eyes wandered down his own chest and he stopped thrusting up into him for some moments "Oh... One of the reasons why my marriage was killing me." he snorted.

Mitchell scowled "Y-you mean she actually branded your initials on your chest?" he pressed both hands on Ty's broad chest so that he was sitting down on him properly again. He slowly rolled his hips over the god's with a small moan, not caring about the fact that they were starting to feel a little too cold against his skin.

Ty tilted his head back slightly, a low groan stuck in the back of his throat as his fingers gripped tighter at the vampire's hips "Y-yes... A-and I had to brand them on her back."

Mitchell threw his head back laughing "Th-that's nuts!" then he dropped his chin on his chest as he looked down at the god with hooded eyes, his tongue gliding over his lower lip as he kept rocking down on him "But it must have been exciting..." he growled in a hoarse voice.

Ty flared his nostrils as he stared up at him with a slacked jaw "We had sex right after, so yeah..."

The vampire grinned "That's just what I needed to hear." he leaned back until he could press his hands down on the mattress and started to raise and lower himself on the god's erection in a steady pace. He was focusing on everything he could not to think about Anders: on Ty's moans, on the bruising grip he had on his hips, on how his own hardened member was bouncing on his own stomach.  
He stretched his knees, gaining more power to thrust his hips, enjoying the angle in which Ty's erection was sliding in and out of him, but then the image of Anders glaring at him as he took that woman from behind came back to his mind, making him groan in frustration. He sat back down atop of the god's pelvis, moaning at the sensation of Ty filling him up completely, then shook his head "This isn't working for me." he raised his hips, letting Ty slide out of him with a swift motion.

The god stared at him puzzled, gasping when Mitchell lifted himself off of him "W-what?!" he blinked "I-I thought you were up for it I-" he began to stammer until the vampire cut him off.

"Easy! I just need to switch positions!" he rolled his eyes "C'mon." he got on his fours and stroked himself slowly as he waited for the god to get back inside him.

Ty hesitated for some moments, but then sat up on his knees and took place behind Mitchell, making sure that the condom was still in place before he bucked his hips forward, sliding back all the way inside him and wrenching a moan from both of them.

The vampire braced himself on one elbow as he kept stroking himself slowly "Don't be gentle with me." he hissed at the shallow thrusts of the god.

He didn't even have to repeat himself, because Ty dug his fingers into his hips to keep them steady as he started pounding deeply and roughly into him. It was that kind of animalistic sex that he hadn't had since when he was with Eva, and he would have been a liar not to admit how much he was enjoying every second of it.

Mitchell, on the other hand, was still seeing bits and pieces of earlier that night, no matter how good and distracting should have been those deep, hard thrusts. He could still see Anders snarling at him, or the satisfied face of the goddess as Bragi pleasured her. The vampire reached down to bite the pillow that was closer to his face, his moans getting lost into it as his eyes turned black and his fangs ripped the pillow apart. He didn't feel like drinking Ty's blood – and it was probably still due to the fact that he was a god, just like his brother – but his anger mixed with the pleasure that Ty was giving him had triggered his violent instincts.

The god, on his part, was so completely lost into the wild pace of his thrusts and mesmerized by how good it felt inside Mitchell, that he didn't even notice that he was burning his skin with his ice cold hands.

Not even the vampire had noticed, at first, but then the pain had got almost unbearable, so unbearable that his eyes blinked back to their natural color "T-Ty, you're hurting me!" he looked back from over his shoulder, then grabbed one of the god's wrists, yanking his hand away from his

frostbitten skin with a groan.

Ty gasped as he snapped back from his trance and quickly drew his other hand back, too "Shit, sorry!" he looked down at Mitchell's burnt hips with widened eyes "Fuck! I wasn't being careful!" he panicked for the millionth time that night.

Mitchell shook his head and sighed "Ty just-" he tried to press a hand on the god's stomach "Pull out, I can't do this anymore. We shouldn't even be doing this in the first place..." he rested his forehead against his arm, squeezing his eyes shut as guilt kicked in, as usual.

Ty stayed still for some moments, processing the vampire's words and the fact that he had been right when he thought that doing that was a bad idea. He liked Mitchell and was very fond of him, but he knew that for the vampire, at least in that moment, he was only a rebound or a way to keep his mind away from his broken heart. He pulled out of him with a soft moan and removed the condom in silence, unable to say anything to even comfort his friend.

Mitchell let out a shuddering breath when Ty slid out of him, then looked down at the shredded pillow as if it was the first time he'd ever seen it "Shit... Sorry... I destroyed your pillow." he sat on his heels and ran his fingers through his damp hair.

The god arched a brow and looked at the pillow, himself "Oh... Wow." he blinked, not exactly expecting something like that "It's okay, don't worry about it." he shrugged and sat down beside him.

The vampire looked at him, sadly "You don't love me, Ty. You love Dawn." he shrugged "And I love your arsehole brother, still... Things don't change overnight." he shook his head, then a shiver ran up his spine, making him shudder.

Ty pursed his lips "Sorry about that." he said, clearly referring to the temperature drop, and wrapped a blanket around the vampire "I know who we both love, but... I can't be with Dawn, because I'll end up killing her, and I can't even tell her the real reason why I broke up with her." he knew he was repeating himself, but if he really had a chance to be with Dawn he wouldn't have tried to draw love and affection from the vampire.

Mitchell frowned, tightening the blanket around his body as he sat down "I know that." he nodded "I know how scared and angry you are because of your powers." he paused for a moment to gather up his thoughts and express them in the best of ways, but the god was quicker to speak.

"Mitchell, I feel a great connection with you... You're the only person who truly gets me. You understand what it's like to be... Deadly." Ty had shifted on his knees as he tried to convince the vampire that they could have been good together.

Mitchell shook his head and touched the burn on one of his hips absentmindedly "Ty... Two self-loathing, self-destructive people like us..." he pursed his lips and shook his head "We're not good for each other. We can be good friend, but lovers? It doesn't end up well. Look what happened between you and Eva." he shrugged "We'd get dangerous, and maybe even cruel... We unleash each other's darkest sides. We wouldn't save each other... We'd do the complete opposite, and I don't want this. Not for a beautiful person like you." he placed a hand over Ty's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, his skin was stone-cold but he didn't care.

The god had hung his head, his gaze low as he listened to his friend "It's too bad." he gulped, feeling his eyes sting with tears, absolutely reluctant to give in to them "I genuinely thought that you could have been the one for me." he flared his nostrils as he sucked in a sharp breath.

Mitchell's eyes fluttered shut at those words and he couldn't help but pulling him into a tight hug "I'm really not that special, Ty. I am horrible, you saw what I did to that girl, tonight."

Ty snorted and tried to avoid touching the vampire's skin, not wanting to hurt him again "But I've also seen the way you are with people. With Anders, with Axl and with Zeb... You're amazing with everyone. You can make people feel better about themselves... Even me." he pulled back to look at him in the eye.

The vampire cringed when he heard Anders' name and just shrugged at Ty's words, too pessimistic to really believe him "I guess it's my vampiric charm." he lied to both the god and himself.

"Oh please. They love you 'cause you're great, not because your charm forces them to." then he rolled his eyes as he added "Otherwise Mike and Michelle wouldn't try to get rid of you so badly."

Mitchell scowled, his eyes widening at the revelation "They what?" he blinked, puzzled "What was that?"

The god bit his lower lip "I was... Trying to tell you, earlier, but you weren't feeling like talking, so..." he justified himself right away, hoping that Mitchell wouldn't get mad at him for not saying this sooner "What you saw tonight at the club... That wasn't destiny, it was all planned." he shrugged, then he cocked his head slightly as he went on "Mike and Michelle found Idunn on purpose... To break your heart and push you away from our family."

The vampire had frozen, not even sure about how he should be reacting to that situation "B-but Anders was screwing her, I-I mean... Was he planning this with them, too?" he grimaced at the thought.

Ty shook his head "No, of course not. If he wanted to get rid of you he would have just broken up with you. For once it's not his fault that he can't keep it in his pants." he observed the vampire's expression as he tried to figure out what he was thinking, how he was feeling.

Mitchell nervously ran his fingers through his hair, his tongue rolling between his lips "What happens now? I still don't count if she's in Anders' life. He wants her, not me." he shrugged and adjusted the blanket around him, even though the temperature was slightly higher by then.

The god placed a hand on the vampire's knee "We'll find a way to fix all of this, I promise." he patted on his knee and cracked in a small smile.

Mitchell sighed, still skeptical, but smiled back, faintly "Alright. But I still need you to pick up some of my stuff at Anders'." he shook his head "I don't wanna see him, nor  _his lady_."

Ty nodded "Sure, I can do that." he stood up and collected his boxers from the floor to put them on.

The vampire arched a brow "Where are you going?"

Ty jerked his head in the direction of the door "Couch."

"Oh, but you can stay!" Mitchell said in an odd high pitched voice, probably sounding a little too needy.

The god shook his head "I can't handle mixed signals... Not right now." he shrugged a shoulder "'Night, Mitch." he leaned in to press a soft kiss to the corner of the vampire's lips and then disappeared into the living room.

Mitchell stayed sat in the middle of the bed for several moments before he gave in to the exhaustion and finally laid down.

He slept horribly that night, having all sorts of nightmares about his past victims, the war and of course Anders and Helen. One of those nightmares shocked him particularly though, and it was Herrick tearing out Anders' throat right outside of Mike's bar. It had felt so oddly real that he had suddenly woken up drenched with sweat and panicking.  
He definitely needed to calm down.

* * *

Somewhere in a dark room, someone was dialing a number on their mobile phone, waiting until someone picked up, complaining about the hour of the call.

"We found him. He finally killed a girl, last night." that's all the man with the strong Kiwi accent had to say to earn the other man's forgiveness.

"Are you sure it's him?"

"We've been trying to track him down since when you first told us, we're pretty sure it's him."

"Excellent. Do not touch him, do not try to contact him. I'll come deal with him as soon as I can."

"As you wish."


	9. Chapter 9

 

 

_We've been through this such a long long time_ **  
**Just tryin' to kill the pain, ooh yeah ****  
But lovers always come and lovers always go  
An' no one's really sure who's lettin' go today, walking away   
_And if we take the time to lay it on the line_   
_I could rest my head just knowin' that you were mine, all mine_   
_So if you want to love me then darlin' don't refrain_   
_Or I'll just end up walkin' in the cold November rain._

_**November Rain, Guns 'n' Roses.** _

* * *

When Mitchell woke up the morning after, he sat up so suddenly that his head spun for a good minute, he had also completely forgotten where he was and the unfamiliar room had scared him to death.

He didn't know what was worse, though, waking up like that, being greeted by all kinds of awful memories from the night before or the terrible familiar cramps of the blood withdrawals.

He rubbed his eyes and ran his long fingers through his messy hair before swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress. He had absolutely no idea where Ty had tossed his boxers the night before, so he didn't know where he was supposed to look.

"Oh, you're up!"

The vampire nearly fell off the bed at the sudden voice "Christ! You made me jump..." he let out a shaky sigh as he looked up at the god "You went 'round Anders', already?" he asked as he bent over to at least put on his jeans.

Ty tried his best not to stare at Mitchell's bare crotch and shook his head "No, I just got back from jogging. I'm going in a moment." he explained with raised brows.

Mitchell licked his lips and nodded "Okay." he stood up and scanned the room "I guess I'll just... Wait for you to come back. It's my day off, today." he hung his head.

"Sure, help yourself to some breakfast... Watch TV, whatever." Ty shrugged with a small smile and moved to the closet to grab some clothes "I'll take a quick shower and then I'm off." he stepped out of the room and quickly walked into the bathroom.

The vampire didn't say anything, he just nodded and followed him out of the bedroom to walk over to the fridge.

He knew that the only thing that could have made him feel really better would have been blood, gallons of it, it would have been easier and better to drink his humanity away, losing all those feelings that made him different from a beast. Because that's what regularly feeding does to a vampire, it makes them forget about their crimes, the people they love and it slowly turns them cold, cruel, violent, until the only thing they really care about is when they are going to feel blood spilling down their throats again.

Mitchell still wanted to be better than that, no matter the suffering, he had been brave and strong so he couldn't give up, yet. Maybe Ty was right, maybe Anders still cared about him deep inside, and no matter how horrible he was feeling in that moment, the vampire needed to cling to that hope.

Normally he would have been too lazy to actually cook, but he figured that making a rich breakfast would have kept him busy and in that moment he really couldn't wish for a better blood substitute than bacon, eggs, toasts and yeah, he was going to throw a couple sausages in there, too.

When Ty came out of the bathroom he was greeted by the delicious smell of bacon, and for a moment he thought about sitting by the table to eat another breakfast with Mitchell "You cooked?" his brows were furrowed in surprise but he was also smiling.

The vampire looked at him, cracking into one of his best child-like smiles "Yeah, I felt the need to you know... Be productive. I don't have work and I'd go bonkers if I didn't do anything all day." he shrugged.

Ty's smile widened "That's good! Keeping yourself busy is the best thing to do, right now." he sniffed and cocked his head "And I have to admit that it does smell delicious."

Mitchell chuckled "Do you wanna get stuck in?" he asked with his mouth full of egg.

The god shook his head "No thanks, I already ate." he placed a hand over his stomach "I better get going, now." he jerked his head towards the front door and picked up the keys to his van from a bowl.

The vampire nodded "Yep." he looked down at his glass of blood orange juice – ah, how he liked the irony – and took a big gulp of it "I'd tell you to say hi, but then again" he shrugged a shoulder "an  _I hope you get gonorrhea_  will work, too." he really tried to be sarcastic and cool about it, but it really hurt to know that Ty would have probably found Anders with that woman in their... Well,  _his_  bed.

Ty pursed his lips and nodded "I'll see what I can do." he pulled the door open and turned to look at the vampire one last time "Behave, alright? And if you need anything just gimme a call, eh?" he raised a brow.

Mitchell nodded "Will do." he took a bite of sausage and then saluted the god with his fork.

The god saluted him back with a soft smile and then left the apartment.

As soon as he was alone the vampire dropped the fork on the table and covered his face with his hands. He pressed his fingertips against his eyes and then rubbed them, as if he was trying to delete all the bad images from the memories and all those images that his mind was producing.

 

 

* * *

The closer Ty got to his brother's house, the more he felt uncomfortable with the whole situation. He wasn't sure about what he was going to see or find in that apartment, and he knew that he was probably going to end up getting in a fight with his brother.

When he parked he didn't get out of the van right away, he hesitated, taking in a few deep breaths before actually finding the strength to get out of the van and reach the front door of the building.

Mitchell had said that Anders had a day off, so he should have probably rang the doorbell instead of letting himself in with his spare key. He pressed the button of the intercom and waited.

No answer.

He pushed the button again, keeping it pressed down for a couple of moments before actually moving his finger away.

" _What?"_  Anders croaked.

"It's Ty." the brunet sighed and pushed the glass door open as soon as his brother buzzed him in. He went up the flight of stairs, taking his time to hopefully be calm enough to deal with Anders, even if he knew it was already a lost cause.

The blond was waiting for him leaning against the door, wearing nothing but his boxers shorts, he was already glaring a hole into his younger brother's skull "Why the hell are you here?"

Ty rolled his eyes "Good morning to you, too."

Anders snorted "Good morning my arse, you just woke me the fuck up. Helen drained the life out of me, Gee." he rolled his eyes.

Ty grimaced, hoping that his brother would spare him the details "Well, it'll only take a minute. I need to take some of Mitchell's clothes and stuff then I'm off."

All it took for the blond to snap out of the Idunn and Bragi spell was hearing the vampire's name, he widened his eyes and pulled away from the door "What? Why?"

"He's staying at my place for a while." the brunet explained with a shrug.

Anders widened his eyes and furrowed his brows "There's no fucking way he's staying at yours, he's  _my_  boyfriend! His shit is staying here, you're not taking it anywhere and I am coming to your house." he snarled as anger, worry and fear all built up inside him at the same time. He knew he had screwed up and he wanted to make everything right, even if he didn't know how because of Helen.

The younger Johnson shook his head "Mitchell doesn't wanna see you, he was pretty clear about this."

The blond flared his nostrils "Oh get out, why wouldn't he wanna see me?"

The brunet scoffed "You're kidding, right? You cheated on him, he's hurt. He doesn't even wanna hear your name!" so maybe he was exaggerating a bit, but he was mad at him and he thought that his brother deserved to suffer as much as Mitchell.

Anders kept quiet for some moments, unable to reply to that, he just stepped aside to let the other god into his apartment "Helen's out, I need to see him and talk to him so I'm coming with you." he said calmly, even too much.

Ty sighed "He'll be pissed if you come with me, he's doing a little better this morning, don't go ruining his mood." he shook his head.

The blond stared at him with furrowed brows and narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to read into his soul "I think... You're just trying to keep me away from him. You couldn't wait for me to screw up, eh?" then he cocked his head "You nailed him, didn't you?"

His younger brother widened his eyes a little "W-what?" he huffed "I did not, what are you on about?" he poorly attempted to sound convincing but it's not easy to fool a liar.

Anders grabbed the brunet by the collar of his shirt with both hands, yanking him closer to his face "You fucked him! You bastard!" he barked and in a moment he was onto him, his right fist crashing square into Ty's left eye.

"Fuck!" the brunet groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"I can't believe you did it, how could you?" Anders yelled at the top of his lungs and punched his brother in the stomach.

Ty bent in a half, growling lowly in pain but then taking advantage of that position he tackled his brother and punched him in the mouth, ripping his lower lip open.

There was no telling if the fight had grown more violent or just desperate, both the brothers were releasing their frustration, anger and suffering through those punches, kicks and shoves. A few tears were shed, too, maybe only because of the injuries or maybe because they were so overwhelmed with what had happened to them, so far, that they just couldn't take it anymore.

 

 

* * *

Mitchell had done nothing but eating during the hours that followed Ty's visit to Anders'. Well eating, smoking and maybe sipping from too many of the bottles that the god had stashed in his cabinets or in the fridge. He wasn't drunk, though, his stomach was too full to let him even get tipsy, but it was alright, he needed to be sober for when Tyrone would have come back home or else he would have probably jumped him all over again.

He was just about to attack a pack of chips when the doorbell rang, making him drop the bag on the table and slowly turn to the door as if he knew that his archenemy was right behind it.

"Who's there?" he arched a brow and slowly made his way towards it.

" _Johnny-boy... Just open up, please."_

That voice, that nickname, they both made the vampire's legs go weak and made him unable to speak as his jaw had dropped and his throat clenched.

" _John, please! Open the door!"_

Mitchell laid his forehead against the door, his teeth grinding as he heard  _his_  voice sounding so desperate, so needy. "Don't do this to me, just leave me alone." he answered from behind the closed door.

" _John, I am hurt."_

The brunet moaned softly and gave in, pulling back to crack the door just enough to see if he was lying or not, but as soon as he saw dried blood on his lover's nostrils and lips, and a huge bruise on his cheekbone he yanked the door open wide "Jesus, what the fuck happened to you?!" he stared at Anders wide-eyed, his breath itching as he panicked.

The god would have smirked if his lower lip wasn't that swollen, so he just cocked his head and shrugged a shoulder "I didn't want Ty to get your stuff?"

Mitchell gaped at him for a couple of moments as he smelled his blood, that godly blood that had such a peculiar scent but still didn't make him feel hungry. He shifted his jaw "Where is he?"

Anders scoffed and then grimaced, his fingertips softly grazing the bridge of his nose "Went to the hospital. Didn't wanna worry you, I guess? I don't care. He could be rotting in hell right now."

The vampire shook his head and grabbed him by the jacket, pulling him inside the house a little too roughly "Is this what Bragi does when he finds Idunn? Attempts to kill his brother?" he snorted. He didn't even have the time to shut the door that he found himself slammed against it "Whoa there!" he widened his eyes as he looked down at the blond.

"You fucked him..." he flared his nostrils, no matter how much his nose hurt.

Mitchell huffed and hung his head "You shouldn't really judge me for making a mistake..." he licked his lips and accurately avoided his gaze.

"Look at me!" Anders hissed and shoved him further into the door.

"Anders, stop it!" the vampire clutched his jaw "I was out of my mind, last night... You have no idea how much it hurt me to see you and that slag."

The blond widened his eyes and banged his fist into the door "I couldn't help it! It was like... Magnets, I don't know!" he growled "But you! Why would you shag my brother?"

If the person holding him against that door wasn't the man he loved, he would have probably kneed him in the groin and got rid of him in the blink of an eye, but it was Anders and he had to bear with his rage "You don't wanna know what happened." he shook his head, still looking anywhere but into the blond's eyes.

"Yes, I do! And I want you to look at me!" he roughly fisted at the collar of Mitchell's shirt.

"I can't bring myself to look at you after what you did..." he gulped.

"Answer my question Mitch! Why did you fuck Ty?" by that time his voice had become hoarse and shaky for all the shouting and the strong emotions.

Mitchell figured that it was useless to keep everything inside and he just wanted Anders to leave him alone. "I killed last night, I killed an innocent girl because of how angry and hurt I was." then cocked his head as he added "And still am. So when Ty brought me here and was so nice to me... I couldn't help myself." he shrugged.

Anders let go of him as his eyes widened, shock and guilt kicking in "John..." was all he could manage to whisper as he processed everything he had heard.

The vampire let his eyelids fall shut "Don't..." he shook his head "Don't call me John. Don't do that, because I know that as soon as you'll walk out of this house you'll find shelter between that  _her_  thighs... And I'll be forgotten all over again."

Of course Anders had a way with words but in that moment he was stuck, devastated by the amount of events that had happened in a matter of hours and destroyed his... Well, _their_  happiness. He felt guilty and responsible for hurting and triggering Mitchell, but he was also jealous out of his mind and just thinking about his brother touching his man made him feel like retching. "You're mine." he shrugged and shook his head at the same time.

Mitchell huffed and rested his head back against the door "I thought you were mine, too."

Anders groaned and slid both his hands up the vampire's chest in that gentle touch that they both enjoyed so much "But I  _am_  yours!" he cried out.

Mitchell looked down at him, eventually, a bitter smile curving his lips "Not right now, no. Not when I can still smell her all over you." he grimaced and looked away, trying not to breathe in that disgusting reek of sex. "Ugh, God."

Words weren't enough and in that moment Anders couldn't bring himself to say anything that would have changed his lover's mind, so he just cupped his face with both hands and pulled him into a kiss, ignoring the stinging pain in his lower lip.

Mitchell growled reluctantly at first, trying to push the god away, but then the feeling of their lips fitting perfectly together almost brought him to tears. They were made for each other and life was trying to push them apart. He kissed him back, needy and desperate, just like he did the very first time their lips met. He could taste the dried up blood on the god's lips but still want to drink it, he would have just wanted to tend to his injuries.

Anders' fingers slid into the vampire's hair and moaned into his mouth as soon as his lips parted and their tongues sensually but tenderly rubbed together. The heated kisses exchanged with Helen simply could not compare to that single perfect kiss, to all the feelings that it made explode in his chest, mind, stomach and even into his soul. Mitchell was the one and he needed to make things right. Anders broke the kiss, pulling back just enough to speak as he looked up at him in the eye "Let's make love," he thumbed at his lover's cheek "right here and right now." he pecked at his lips.

Mitchell gulped and stared down at the blond, struck by his choice of words: he had never asked him to  _make love_ , he wasn't that kind of person. Being the circumstances different and had nothing happened, the brunet would have broken into one of his goofy smiles, chuckled out a yes and would have fallen to the floor with the man he loved, not caring if Ty or anyone else would have walked into their love making. Unfortunately things were different, and the brunet still felt like Anders only ever wanted him for his body "No..." he shook his head avoiding the god's second try to kiss him.

The blond furrowed his brows "Why not?" he ran his fingers through the vampire's unruly curls, tucking a few locks behind his ear. God, how much he loved his hair.

Mitchell scoffed "You cannot ask me that, not after last night. I can't do it, Helen is still out there waiting for you to go back to her. If we do it now" he accurately avoided using Anders' same words "it would only hurt me more." he shrugged.

Anders listened to him with creased brows, pursing his lips as he shook his head "No! No, she's not important,  _you_  are!" he succeeded in pressing a quick kiss to his lips "Do you know what day it is today?"

Mitchell sucked in a shaky breath and looked up at the ceiling "I try not to think about it..."

The blond caught the brunet's chin between his fingers, gently pulling at it to get his boyfriend to look at him "But you have to... Today marks our first month together." he smiled softly, and maybe his voice was shaking a little, too. "This is the longest I've ever been with someone!"

The vampire sighed "But today isn't really that day, is it?" he raised his brows as he looked down at him "Today is the day in which everything got ruined by... Everyone, not just us."

Anders pressed his index against Mitchell's lips "No don't say that, please... I-" his words were cut off by his ringtone.

The brunet snorted "Go on, answer that. It's probably your wife." he rolled his eyes.

The blond flared his nostrils "She's not my wife, she's Bragi's." he growled lowly.

"Same fucking thing, innit?" the vampire shrugged a shoulder.

"I don't care about her." he said slowly, as if Mitchell didn't speak the same language "You're the one I care about."

The iPhone was still going off and it was driving Mitchell crazy "As long as she's around you'll always end up with her, 'cause the god in you says so."

Anders fished his mobile and ignored Helen's call "Mitchell I am serious, I'll get rid of her somehow."

The brunet nodded "Fine, but you need to leave now."

The cellphone started ringing again.

The god groaned "Of for fuck's sake!" he turned it off and then looked up at Mitchell "I wanna stay here, John... Please?" he nuzzled the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent and wrapping his arms around the brunet's waist.

The vampire sighed "Don't call me John..." a shiver ran up his spine and his stomach quivered. He would have wanted to sling his arms around the blond's shoulders but he didn't, he just closed his eyes "You're making everything harder. Just go, yeah?" he breathed out, his fingers clutching into fists.

Anders rested his temple on the brunet's shoulder, his lips barely curving into a tiny smirk "I was really hoping to make  _it_  hard."

Mitchell groaned and pushed him away "Quit joking!" he glared at him.

The god raised his hands "Alright, sorry. I shouldn't have said that." he looked down at his feet for a moment "You really want me to go?" he cocked his head.

The brunet pursed his lips "You have to. I'm still angry with you, and I'm still hurt. So now go ride your goddess into oblivion." he gestured towards the door.

Anders flared his nostrils "How do I know that you're not gonna fuck my brother again?"

The vampire widened his eyes and huffed "Are you for real?"

The blond raised his brows and shrugged "Dunno, you tell me!" jealousy was really messing with his head.

Mitchell ran his fingers through his hair "Well you don't, you'll just have to trust me." he shrugged "You can't really talk, though, I already know that you're gonna shag Helen as soon as you see her, and it kills me!"

"And you think that it doesn't kill me to know that you screwed Ty last night and now you live here?" Anders growled as he gestured in the direction of the bedroom.

The vampire couldn't believe what he was hearing as he stared at the god in disbelief "Are you taking the piss? You didn't see me bent over a sink while your brother fucked me!" maybe he should have chosen a better way to prove his point.

The blond tilted his head "Oh so he was the top, thanks for making the picture more clear!" he stepped closer "Is he good? Did he make you come with his name on your lips?"

The brunet clenched his jaw, trying to keep calm and ignore the provocation "You fucked her multiple times. You fucked her in our bed." he flared his nostrils.

Anders narrowed his eyes, accepting the unspoken challenge "Did you suck his cock and let him spill down your throat?"

That was the last straw that made the vampire lose control over his nerves, he shoved the god away and opened the door "Get the fuck out of here, you prick!" he snarled, shaking with anger.

"With pleasure!" the blond growled and stalked out of the apartment, jumping slightly when the door violently slammed shut. He didn't want to say those things but his natural self-defense mechanism pushed him to act exactly like a prick. "Great job, Anders. Now you're surely getting him back." he ground his teeth and shook his head, hesitating for a moment before he unlocked the SUV and climbed into it.

 

 

* * *

By the time he was halfway home, Anders had no idea what he was going to do to fix that situation, especially because insulting Mitchell didn't exactly help his case.

He was tired – physically and emotionally – , hurt, jealous, angry and he just couldn't figure out how he was going to get rid of Helen. On top of that he still couldn't tell if that animal attraction between them actually kicked in just by seeing her or if it was eventually going to fade away with time. There was one thing he was way too sure about, though: he was completely incapable to stop having sex with her.

All of a sudden he remembered who was to blame for wrecking havoc with Mitchell, so he decided that before he could fall back into Helen's web he should drop by at Mike's to tell him off.

It was a fighting kind of day, apparently.

Anders didn't care if he hadn't exactly parked his SUV in the best of ways, he just locked it up and stormed inside the bar. He was just about to greet his brother with a colorful list of insults when he found that Mike wasn't alone and froze with his finger pointed into his direction.

"Hi baby! I had a feeling you'd come here!" Helen chirped with a smile as she stood up from the stool and waltzed in his direction.

"H-hi..." he blond stared at her puzzled and quickly glanced over at his smirking brother before the goddess grabbed his face with both hands.

"What happened to your face, are you alright?" she furrowed her brows in concern.

The god shrugged "Nothing, I've been bickering with Ty."

"Boys..." she rolled her eyes "I missed you!" she crashed her lips together.

Anders didn't get the chance to say anything in response and the muffled moan of pain was probably mistaken for pleasure.

She pulled back and whispered in his ear "We should go home right now because I wanna show you some things I bought... And that includes some lingerie." she nibbled on his earlobe.

Inevitably, the god had started feeling pretty excited to see her and as soon as lingerie was mentioned his brain immediately dropped between his legs, right where his excitement was now very visible. "I guess we'll have to bounce then, eh?" he smirked and then saluted Mike "A god's gotta do what a god's gotta do!"

Helen sniggered as she laced fingers with the blond and paced out of the bar.

Anders wasn't able to actually drive towards his apartment until Helen was done giving him head as soon as they got into the SUV that was still parked right outside the bar in daylight and plain sight. The fact that they could be definitely seen just made everything more exciting, and it didn't actually take long for the god to come undone. Useless to say that it was a little difficult for him to drive in the afterglow but he somehow managed to get them home in one piece.

"I'm really excited, I can't wait to see your face when you'll see how productive I've been this morning!" the goddess bit her lip, gloating as she watched Anders unlock the front door.

"I'll guess you'll see it in a moment." he broke into a crocked smirk, then pushed the door open stepping inside the flat with slightly wobbly legs. His eyes widened when he saw that his furniture had been moved around and a lot of new, horrible housewife-like accessories had been added all over the place.

Helen shut the door behind them, an excited grin plastered on her face "So? Isn't it perfect and...  _Homey_?" she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

Anders was paralyzed as his eyes scanned the room in utter horror "You... Redecorated?" he gulped. That was exactly one of the reasons why he had never settled down with anyone and exactly one of the reasons why Mitchell was perfect for him, because he simply didn't give a shit about how their house looked as long as they had a roof over their head.

"Yes!" she pressed a couple of kisses on his neck.

"Isn't it like... A bit soon, for this kinda things?" he furrowed his brows.

"What?" she scowled "We're going to be together forever, so why wait?" she scoffed as if she had stated the obvious.

"Forever..." he repeated in a monotone.

"Mhm, as husband and wife." she turned him around and slung her arms around his neck "God and goddess... Bragi and Idunn." she smiled brightly "Once we'll become proper gods we'll be so, so powerful, together!" she slid her fingers through the short hair on the back of his head.

"That might take a while." Anders raised his brows, idly trying to kill her excitement.

"We will wait, then..." she shrugged "And even if we still don't have our full powers we can still have lots and lots of fun." her voice faded in a whisper as she slowly leaned in to brush her lips against Anders'.

The god gulped, unable to resist the urge to stick his tongue down the woman's throat and cup the swell of her butt with both hands. They kissed roughly and messily for a while before they moved into the bedroom, where Anders found more changes. He glared down at the bed covered in pillows "What the fuck happened here?"

Helen shrugged as she quickly stepped out of her green dress "Just added a small feminine touch."

The rustle of silk made the god glance back at the woman who was now sporting a green lace corset and a a green v-string that left nothing to the imagination "Holy fuck..." he managed to say before his jaw dropped.

"Oh you like it then." she snickered and pushed him down onto the bed.

Anders raised his brows "Like it? I fucking love it." he rolled his tongue between chapped lips and smirked as soon as Helen's practiced fingers unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling them down just enough to set his arousal free.

"I love it that you're always ready for me." she grinned, crawling on top of him.

The god tried to knock off the bed as many pillows as he could, trying not to get too distracted by the way the goddess was rutting her hips down onto his erection with small moans and heavy breaths. "Sh-shit!" he squeezed his eyes shut, hips rolling their own to meet the delicious friction "Since you're on top get the damn rubber, eh?"

Helen arched a brow "We're both clean and consensual adults, and it's funnier without a condom." she purred as she ducked her head to flick her tongue at the spot right behind his earlobe.

"Whatever floats your boat." he clasped his hands around her hips and guided her to sit all the way down his hardened member, a groan getting stuck in the back of his throat.

She moaned purposely loudly and then sucked on his lobe as she picked up a slow pace to lift and lower herself on him.

He didn't exactly know where his mind was, but without the drug and alcohol in his body from the night before it was like Helen couldn't pleasure him that much, after all. He let her be in control for a few minutes, until he got bored of the position and flipped them over, pulling out of her "You know what would be amazing?" he lapped at her lips.

She caught his tongue between her teeth and sucked on it softly "What would?" she whispered.

"Well, you know..." he wrapped his right hand around his shaft and gently prodded at her puckered entrance as he smirked down at her.

She gasped but cracked into a smirk as well "Oh, I like your ideas." she bit her lower lip.

His smirk turned into a grin "On your stomach, then."

He didn't spend too much time prepping her since his erection was throbbing and aching with anticipation and the goddess was too eager to wait, herself.

It was brief, primal, and not having to look into her eyes made a memory surface in the back of his mind, because his brain might have been shut down but his heart knew very well where it stood.

He had kept his own eyes closed the whole time and the feeling of actually being thrusting inside of Mitchell's body had felt way too real, so real that he had come hard inside of Helen breathing out the vampire's name as softly as he could.

He pulled out of her and collapsed on the bed, completely spent but satisfied.

Helen was giggling out of breath as she snuggled up to him "My Lord, you're very good at pleasuring your woman." she rubbed his chest in circles.

Anders didn't say anything and just shut his eyes as a content smile curved his lips.

She kissed her way up his neck, taking her sweet time to nip and suck the salt from his skin before leaving a trail of small, wet kisses across his jawline until she reached his lips and covered them with her own. "I like that you called me Idunn when you came." she grinned, licking his upper lip.

The god's eyes snapped open "I-I know, right?" he smiled nervously but at the same time he was glad that she had mistaken the name  _John_  for  _Idunn_.

He had started to think that he could gradually take his distance from her and the night before had probably just been an heat of the moment kind of thing, maybe ecause it was the first time they had met. Yes, that was probably it, he could get rid of her.

Unfortunately in the few days that followed, it became evident that the more time Helen was with him, the more Anders got tangled into her web and she became needier, pushier and more annoying with her requests and expectations.

She was poisoning him, turning him crankier and snappier than ever and making it harder than usual for Dawn to deal with him. The goddess had taken the bad habit of keeping him company at work sometimes, making it impossible for his PA to express her own opinions without being scolded for no good reason by her boss's new girlfriend.

He hadn't talked nor seen Mitchell and Ty since the day he had a fight with both of them, but he had actually texted the vampire a couple of times without getting any answer, thing that resulted in Anders being even moodier and unable to stand anything or anyone.

It was after the umpteenth text ignored by Mitchell that Anders snapped at both Dawn and Helen for constantly bickering during the whole morning.

"Ladies, for fuck's sake, would you knock it off?" he snarled earning a couple of shocked stares from the two women. He tried to calm down, sucking in a deep breath before he continued "Helen, why don't you go buy me that shirt you were telling me about last night? I'll meet you later for lunch." he really didn't care about that tacky piece of cotton that the goddess liked so much, especially because he hated it when Helen bought him stuff, but he really needed her to leave his office and let he and Dawn do their job.

The goddess wasn't exactly thrilled to leave his side but since it was the first time he had actually asked her to get him something she agreed with a nod of her head "Alright. I'll see you later, then." she pecked at his lips and left the shop only after shooting Dawn a deadly glare.

Anders didn't kiss her back nor watched as she left the office, he only relaxed back in his seat and rubbed his temples, exhausted.

"I don't normally care about your private life..." Dawn started, dropping a folder a little too roughly on his desk "But she's a big, fat mistake."

The god looked up at her dead in the eyes. As if he didn't know that. "You wouldn't understand." he sighed as he kept massaging the sides of his head in hope of soothing his splitting headache.

The woman scoffed as she stared down at him almost disgusted "What is wrong with you Johnsons kicking out the only good people from your lives?" she was nearly yelling as she thought about Ty leaving her to marry Eva, the person who had sucked life and happiness out of him "Mitchell was the best thing that had happened to you, and now you play husband and wife with that...  _Thing_!" at that point she was definitely shouting.

Anders saw the pain and anger in her eyes, and even though he knew how right she was he couldn't bring himself to talk to her about it. "Dawn, you're very stressed and tired. I think you deserve to take the rest of the day off." he spoke softly with the voice of Bragi, then watched her hesitate for a moment before she gathered up her stuff and left the office in silence.

"Thank fuck!" he groaned out as he stood up and moved to lay down on the couch. He stared at the screen of his mobile for several moments, chewing down on his lower lip as he eventually decided to try and actually call the vampire.

 

 

* * *

Things had been hard for Mitchell during those days, as grief and blood withdrawals never gave him a break. The cramps were getting better with time, at least, and the hunger hit him less and less frequently, even because it was a read issue when he was at the hospital... Not that it was his only problem at work, since he pretty much had to walk into Michelle almost on a daily basis and bear with her victorious grins and the constant satisfaction in her eyes. It took him a lot of energy and self-control not to slap those smirks off her face, but at least she had the decency of not talking to him, and maybe it was because she knew that it would have been pushing her luck too far.

Of course the vampire never went back to Mike's, knowing that he would have lost it once he would have seen him, since his violent side threatened to break out every single time he thought about him and his betrayal – since Mitchell used to think of him as a friend.

It was harder to stay on the wagon without Anders, yet if he thought about him it made him either mad, sad or both and that was the exact opposite of helpful. Mitchell was glad not to be completely alone at least, he had Ty who tried to support and help him as much as he could, and sometimes Olaf, Axl and Zeb would swing by, always managing to cheer him up a little.

He felt bad most of the times for having to stay at Ty's when he knew how hard it was for the god to have him around, especially during those nights in which they'd end up cuddling and making out on the couch until their consciences would stop them, and that was when the god had to hide his own pain and be strong for the sake of their friendship and Mitchell's sanity.

Mitchell still didn't want to see nor hear from Anders and he made it very clear by never replying to any of the god's apology-filled texts.  
 _"He doesn't even have the guts to call, the fucker."_ was what he thought the first time his cellphone had buzzed with one of those messages.

When Anders found the courage to call him it was during a particularly tiring shift. He had frozen as he held the vibrating mobile in his hands, realizing that the god wasn't sending him another text and he didn't know what would have been the right thing to do. He had tried to come up with the solution as quickly as possible, but his thinking was interrupted by someone clearing their throat right behind his back.

Mitchell turned around expecting to see a nurse or a doctor asking him to mop up the lunch that one of the patients had just seen in reverse, but instead he found the only person he would have never ever wanted to see again.

"Hello, Mitchell. It's been a long month without you." Herrick's blue eyes sparkled as he grinned evilly at him.

A shiver shot up the younger vampire's spine and he quickly took a look around "Why the fuck are you here? How did you find me?" the cellphone was still vibrating in his hand but he had forgotten about it.

"You know me, I have my share of connections." the ginger cocked his head and then pointed at the mobile "It could be important, you should take that."

Two things that Mitchell had learned during all those years were that Herrick really had a lot of connections, and he definitely couldn't be trusted, because no matter how friendly he appeared to be it was just a facade. "Why would you say that? Did you harm any of my friends?" he flared his nostrils as he glared at his maker.

Herrick raised his brows "You hurt my feelings, Mitchell. You longer trust your old friend?"

The brunet scoffed "Spare me your drama queen side, Herrick." in that moment the phone ceased vibrating and Mitchell stared down at it in horror as if it meant that Anders had died or something.

"I won't hurt your little friends..." the older vampire shook his head "Not if you pack up and come back to Bristol with me." again he cracked into his best mischievous smirk.

Mitchell's eyes darkened and his brows furrowed "That's not gonna happen, you have to leave me alone." he growled lowly.

The ginger sniggered "Ooh, aren't you handsome when you do that thing... Your  _I'm dangerous_  face?" he shook his head, amused "You've played around enough, now it's time to come back home."

The brunet stepped closer to him " _This_  is my home, now. Go back to England and never come back."

Herrick licked his lips as he started to lose his patience "That's not possible because, you see... If other vampires knew about your lifestyle it would be chaos." he shrugged "And I can't allow that."

Mitchell scoffed "That's the stupidest excuse you could come up with." he rolled his eyes "Tell them I died or something, who gives a shit?" he shrugged.

The ginger tilted his head "I'd still know that you're here and it would drive me mad." then he quickly looked around before adding "Plus the Kiwi vampires know you're here, and more and more of them are trying to go clean, just like you." he pointed at him "You're a bad example."

The brunet couldn't help but laugh in his face "Oh, am I? Being an inspiration for other vampires to stop killing makes me the bad guy?" he snorted "Brilliant." he shook his head and gestured towards the elevator "Just go and quit making a fool of yourself."

The ginger arched a brow "I hope you know that you're playing with fire. You and your little gods friends might get seriously burnt."

The younger vampire perked up, his eyes turning black and his fangs baring as he pressed a finger against Herrick's chest "Don't even think about doing anything to them."

The older vampire guffawed, throwing his head back "Is that supposed to scare me? Oh my Lord." he shook his head as he laughed "Quit joking and start acting like an adult vampire, for fuck's sake!" he growled as he turned serious all of a sudden "We're supposed to get rid of them, just like we need to exterminate the werewolves." he shrugged "In less than a year we'll be ready to start the real vampiric empire, there will be a war and you too will need to be ready, so come back home!"

Mitchell's fangs retracted and his eyes blinked back to normal as he listened to Herrick with creased brows "Right, just like you said five years ago and five years before." he scoffed "I am not buying it anymore." he shrugged "I will not go back to Bristol, nor partake in any kind of... Stupid, useless war. So now leave me alone, I prefer the company of shit and vomit to yours." that being said the brunet turned around to walk in the opposite direction.

"I am not kidding, Mitchell. I'm taking you back the hard way if you keep acting like this!" he said loudly enough for the other vampire to hear him, then left.

The brunet turned to see if Herrick was still there before rushing towards the lockers, clutching the cellphone in his hand. He needed to warn Anders, he needed to tell him that he and the rest of his family were in danger, because no matter how much fun he had just made of Herrick he knew that he was a real threaten and he would have kept his promise to hurt the ones he cared about.

"Please answer me, please answer me." he whispered as he pressed the his mobile to his ear, waiting impatiently for the god to pick up.


	10. Chapter 10

_Hold me,_ **  
**Like you held on to life, **  
**When all fears came alive and entombed me.

  
_Love me,_ **  
**Like you love the sun,  
 _Scorching the blood in my vampire heart._   


**Vampire Heart, H.I.M.**

* * *

Mitchell entered the wrong room twice because he wasn't even thinking about where he was going as he tried to call Anders for the second time.

Maybe he was returning him the silence treatment but in that moment there were more important things going on "Fuck, why won't you answer? You were calling me fi-"

_"Hey..."_

The vampire froze, a shiver shaking his body slightly as the relief of knowing that Anders was safe erased all his fears "Hey... Are you okay?" he could stop running now, but he still needed to get out of the hospital.

_"Not really, no... I miss you."_

The brunet's heart sunk to his stomach "I miss you too..." it was useless to lie, even if there was something important he had to add "Mike and Michelle were right, though." he gulped, stopping in front of his locker to grab his stuff and change into his clothes.

_"What are you talking about? Have you been drinking?"_

Mitchell scoffed "I wish this was all the result of being drunk, yeah. But it isn't." he nibbled nervously on his lip, unable to find a way to break the news to the blond.

_"...You're starting to freak me out, so you should tell me what the fuck is actually going on."_

The vampire huffed "Are you at the office? I can't do this on the phone." he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.

A moment of silence followed the brunet's request, then Anders' voice came back sounding softer and almost resigned  _"Yeah, I am. I gotta meet Helen for lunch, though."_

Mitchell's nostrils flared, meeting up for lunch after work was their thing and now Helen was stealing that, too "Right... Well, I'll be there as soon as possible, yeah?"

_"Alright... See ya."_

"Yep, see ya." the vampire hung up and rested his forehead against the door of the locker. No matter how hard and dangerous it was going to be, he had taken his decision and he was going to do it just to save Anders.

Mitchell arrived outside the door of JPR in less than thirty minutes, he had been running like the devil and everyone around him seemed unfriendly and dangerous. He was becoming paranoid but it couldn't be helped, he didn't want to be the cause of the Johnson family's extermination, even because he knew too well what would have happened if someone killed Axl.

He knocked on the door twice to make sure that Anders wasn't busy and waited.

The blond had been pacing around the office since he had hung up the phone and when he heard the knocking he jumped slightly and rushed to open it.

The brunet gulped when he saw him "Hi." he raised his brows.

The god gripped at the shirt on the small of Mitchell's chest and yanked him closer "Fuck, I was so worried!" he pressed his lips against the vampire's, furrowing his brows as he sucked in a sharp breath through his nostrils.

Mitchell couldn't help but kiss him back because it could have been the last time he did so. He cupped Anders' cheeks and pulled him back to look at his confused expression "God, why are you so beautiful?" he shook his head and pressed his forehead against the god's.

Anders let his eyes fall shut and released a shaky sigh " _You_  are beautiful, not me." he wrapped his arms around the brunet's neck as he kissed him again.

The vampire kissed him back briefly and broke apart almost right away "I have to talk to you, please hear me out." he thumbed at the blond's cheeks with raised brows.

The god rolled his eyes and snorted "How bad is the thing you gotta tell me?"

Mitchell's lips curved into a bitter smile "Pretty bad." he shrugged.

Anders wrapped his fingers around the vampire's wrists and pulled his hands away from his face "I told you I'll get rid of her, there's no need to break up for good, y'know?" he turned around and walked over to his desk.

The brunet sighed and shut the door, locking it up "This isn't about Helen, Anders. It's something bigger and far worse." he followed the god to the desk and sat on top of it.

The blond watched him and folded his arms over his chest "Right, you said that Mike and Michelle were right. What does that mean?" he scowled and cocked his head.

Mitchell pursed his lips and nodded "Exactly." he rubbed both hands across his face and then huffed "Look, you're in danger. You and your whole family are. Because of me."

Anders raised his brows and blinked "I thought you didn't like gods' blood?"

The vampire rolled his eyes "No, not like that."

Anders threw his head back "Well how, then?" he groaned in frustration.

Mitchell sighed "I'll tell you but... Sit down, alright?"

The blond scoffed and moved to sit on his chair by the desk "I'm sat down, so?" he arched a brow.

The brunet shifted back a little, trying to get comfier, and crossed his ankles "Before I moved here, I was part of a clan... A vampire clan. I was pretty much the boss's right hand, y'know? The deadlier, worst arsehole you could meet." he licked his lips, pausing as he felt really uncomfortable with talking about his past "The boss is my maker, the vampire who gave me the curse back when I was in the army." he cocked his head "So... This maker of mine, Herrick, I hadn't told him that I was going to move here, I only said that I was going to leave England and never come back. Of course it turns out that he has looked for me the whole time and... Now he's here."

The god scowled "So I guess that he wants you to go back to being his right hand, eh?"

Mitchell nodded "Exactly. The thing is... I told him that there's no way I'm going back to Bristol, I don't wanna be his killing machine, not again."

Anders shrugged "What's the big deal, then? Just tell him to fuck off and leave you alone."

The brunet scoffed "You think I didn't do that?" he rolled his eyes "Herrick is stubborn and powerful, he knows which buttons to push... And apparently he knows about you and your family, he knows who you are and is planning on killing you all if I don't go with him. He knows that I care about you so he threatened me." he frowned and looked down at his lap "I've put you all in danger... Just like Mike and Michelle said."

The blond stared at him with widened eyes "If he kills Axl..."

Mitchell squeezed his eyes shut "There's going to be a natural disaster and everyone will die, I know." he nodded and looked sadly at Anders "I can't let this happen."

The blond ran his fingers through his hair, starting to feel anxious "That's not good... Fuck that's not good at all." he chewed down nervously on his lower lip.

"It's all my fault, so I'll have to try and fight him, but he's very strong and... I might not make it." he shrugged "But it's the only way to save you and everyone else."

Anders furrowed his brows and shook his head "No..." he grabbed his hands "No, you can't do it. I don't want you to die!" he squeezed his hands firmly.

Mitchell leaned in to rest his forehead against the blond's "I told you, it's the only way, darlin'... I'll do my best to try and defeat him, but he wants me, not you guys." he cupped the blond's cheeks "Even if I die he'll leave you alone." he raised his brows "I want you to be safe, my love."

The god shook his head and pulled back to take a better look at the vampire "Bullshit! What am I gonna do if you die? You're my destiny, you can't leave me!" he cried out.

The brunet tried to gulp down the lump that had formed in the back of his throat "You have Helen, she's your real destiny, she'll never leave your side." he flared his nostrils as he tried to fight back his tears.

The blond tried to punch him in the face as he shouted "Helen my arse! I couldn't give two shits about her!"

Mitchell blocked the punch with his palm "Anders, do you wanna die? Do you want Herrick to get everyone killed?" he growled "Cut the crap and use your brain!"

Anders shook his head "I don't wanna listen to this." he stood up "We need to come up with another plan, I will tell the others about it and we'll solve this."

The brunet grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him closer "You can't possibly kill him! If he could beat me imagine what he could do to you!" he licked his now chapped lips "I told you, this is all my fault and I am gonna take my responsibilities."

The god refused to look at him as he listened with gritted teeth, he didn't say anything in response and just flared his nostrils.

"Hey..." Mitchell tugged on his wrist "Look at me, c'mon." he sighed.

The blond pursed his lips and looked down at the vampire.

"You kept me human since the first moment we met." he grabbed his other hand and laced their fingers together "Even if Helen came around and messed it all up." he rolled his eyes "The thing is... That you saved me." he cocked his head "So maybe it's about time I return the favor."

Anders' nostrils quivered and his eyes stung, but he wasn't going to let his tears fall, he wasn't a crybaby, he sucked in a shaky breath and shook his head "Shut up just... Shut the fuck up!" his voice cracked, no matter how hard he was trying to sound angry and cold.

"I love you, Anders Johnson." the vampire shrugged "I love you with all myself, and I am ready to die for you."

The god growled and slammed his fist into the brunet's chest, who this time didn't do anything to stop him "I told you to shut the fuck up! I don't want you to die for me, not for anyone else!" a sob escaped his throat and as soon as a couple tears left his eyes he quickly wiped them away. "Fuck you..." his voice was merely a whisper as he cursed at him.

Mitchell placed a hand on the back of Anders' head "Come here, you twat." he pulled him into a kiss.

Anders clawed at the brunet's shoulders and then fisted at his curls with both hands as he responded roughly to the deep kiss. A couple of moments later he was peeling off the vampire's coat and tugging on his two shirts,

The brunet pulled back and stopped the blond by holding his wrists "There's no time for this, Herrick could be on his way to kill one of your relatives, I have to stop him!"

The god flared his nostrils "You said that you could die, we need to do this at least one last time!" he clenched his jaws as he swallowed hard.

Mitchell frowned "Anders..."

"John, please..."

The vampire sighed and placed his forehead against the god's, slowly sticking his cold hands up the blond's shirt, grazing his soft skin and digging his fingertips into his chest.

Anders let his eyes drop shut as he focused on the familiar touch of the brunet, shivering softly. He tugged off his own shirt and tossed it on the floor before wrapping his arms around the brunet's neck.

Mitchell smiled and nuzzled the warm crook of the blond's neck, inhaling his scent as if he hadn't smelled it in years "I've been dreaming of this scent..." he kissed his way up Anders' neck and nibbled softly on his jawline.

The god smiled and tangled his fingers into dark, unruly curls "I missed you." a moan suddenly escaped his throat as the vampire sucked on a soft spot on his neck, completely ignoring the throbbing vein right underneath the pale skin.

"I missed you too, babe." he whispered against wet skin before he tilted his head to kiss him, tongue nudging against the blond's lips until they parted, allowing Mitchell's tongue to rub against his.

Their clothes were soon scattered all over the floor and desk while they had moved to the couch to be more comfortable. They knew that they should have been quick, but if that was really going to be their last time together, rushing things would have slaughtered the moment.

Mitchell's lips and tongue were worshipping the blond's chest and nipples as his lubed up fingers were working between Anders' thighs, wrenching hot but endearing moans from his throat.

"J-John..." the god cried out as his hips bucked up to match the perfect thrusts of the vampire's fingers.

"I'm here love, I'm here." he quickly covered Anders' lips with his in a deep, tender kiss. He pulled his fingers out as he blindly searched for the still opened bottle of lube that he had left on the floor and accidentally knocked it over. "Shit!" he reluctantly broke the kiss to grab the lubricant and quickly slicked his erection with it.

The god held onto Mitchell's arm as he watched him prepping himself, refusing to let go of him as if the vampire would have vanished if he didn't.

"I'm not going anywhere, y'know?" Mitchell raised his brows as he set the bottle back down on the floor.

"Yet..." the blond rolled his eyes and gave the brunet's arm a soft squeeze "I'm sorry I made you suffer." he pursed his lips.

The vampire shrugged, a small, bitter smile curling his lips "You've been an arse back at Ty's... But other than that, I know it wasn't all your fault."

Anders sniggered softly "C'mon, Lestat... Make your Nicolas happy." he purred as he tugged the vampire closer to slowly lap at his upper lip.

Mitchell's jaw dropped slightly as he felt his member twitch for Anders' sexy French accent, he then caught the god's tongue between his teeth and sucked on it with a smirk. "I'll make you very happy, Nicki."

The god grinned and soon enough his eyes were rolling into the back of his skull, a groan getting stuck in the back of his throat as the brunet started entering him. He gripped at Mitchell's shoulders, nails digging into his flesh as the vampire pushed deeper and deeper inside of him "Oh f-fuck..."

As the vampire buried himself completely inside the warmth of the god's body, he pressed his forehead against the armrest of the couch and wrapped both arms around his man. His hips didn't move for a brief while as he lingered into the perfect feeling of being inside Anders, rearing his head back to stare into the god's hooded eyes. "Everything okay?" he breathed out.

The blond ran his tongue between his lips before stretching them into a smirk "I hadn't felt this  _okay_  in ages." he chuckled and pushed his head up to peck at the brunet's lips "Move, though." he arched a brow and bucked his hips up into the vampire with a couple soft moans.

Mitchell sniggered as well as he kissed the god back and then flared his nostrils and bit his lower lip when the blond rocked against him like that "Eager little twat." he dipped his tongue into Anders' mouth, kissing him sloppily as he started thrusting deeply into him.

Anders glared up at him "I'm not lit-" his complaint got lost into the vampire's mouth along with his groans as he melted into the messy, fervent kiss.

They rocked together for what seemed like an eternity to them, switching paces and sometimes positions, their lips never stayed apart for too long and the fingers of at least one of their hands were constantly entwined with the unspoken fear of losing each other any minute. Anders' phone buzzed with calls and texts and they ignored every single one of them, completely lost in their love, in that passion that they tried to make last as long as they could, both reluctant to reach their release no matter how close they were. It felt as though everything was going to end and fall apart once they would come undone, since Mitchell would have gone off to find Herrick and Anders would have had to meet up with Helen.

"S-slow down, slow down!" Anders cried out, head tilting back into the cushion and toes curling from the nearly unbearable pleasure "Too fuckin' close..." he whimpered as he gave the vampire's hand a squeeze.

The brunet nodded, his face and body glistening with sweat as he pulled nearly all the way out of the god "I want us to come together," he licked his own lips before pressing them down against the blond's "if we can manage that." he smirked.

The god scoffed "You could go on forever with your-" he gulped and tried to catch his breath "fuckin' vampire stamina. I'm gonna die soon." he chuckled tiredly and out of breath.

Mitchell sniggered and went back to hungrily abuse those red, swollen lips of Anders' with bites and sucks as his hips shallowly thrusted back into him.

Anders used his free hand to cup the vampire's cheek "I don't wanna come yet, Mitch." he moaned softly "Don't make me." he gazed into those dark, hooded eyes with his own full of worry and fear.

The brunet stopped moving, his member halfway inside his boyfriend's body as he cracked in a little smile "It's getting late, darlin' and Herrick is free to roam the streets of Auckland, putting everyone in danger." he raised his brows "I don't want to, but I have to go."

The blond was listening to him but he couldn't bring himself to hold his gaze, he knew that Mitchell was right but it hurt too much "I don't want you to die." he said in a low, pleading tone that no one other than the vampire had ever heard him use.

"Maybe I won't." he shrugged and ducked his head to kiss the god's cheek "Look at me, please." he whispered pressing the tip of his nose against Anders' cheek, but he didn't turn his head. Mitchell squeezed his eyes shut "Remember what I kept telling you when we first met?" he sighed.

Anders licked his lips "You just kept pushing me away." he said simply, still not looking at the brunet.

The vampire nodded "It was to spare you this kind of pain. Because even if it's not directly coming from me... Trouble just follows me."

Anders growled, exasperated "I don't give a fuck! I don't regret insisting on being with you. I don't regret a shitty single thing we've done together, alright? So stop treating me like I'm some kind of helpless child with a crush!" he bursted, eventually glaring at the man above him.

Mitchell stared at him with slightly widened eyes and sealed lips, impressed by the sudden outburst "You're right, I'm sorry..." he placed his forehead against the blond's with a sigh.

"I won't be better off without you, so just shut the shit up." the blond's voice only cracked on the last word as he ended the sentence. "Just fuck me now, eh?" he rolled his eyes, hoping that no tear was going to roll down his cheeks.

Mitchell smiled sadly and reared back "Okay." he pinned Anders' left hand over his head, their fingers still firmly laced together, and tongued the god's lips open to kiss him deeply as his hips began to rock all over again.

A steady, rough pace was set and they kept rather quiet as they stared into each other's eyes all the while. They climaxed at the same time, just like the vampire had wanted and they didn't even have to speak to warn the other about their upcoming orgasm, they just knew each other too well.

They laid sprawled on the couch for several minutes as they tried to regain their strength, and gentle touches and soft kisses were shared in the silence of Anders' office. The warmth of their embrace and the blissful peace of the afterglow was slowly dragging them into Morpheus' arms, but Mitchell soon snapped out of it.

The brunet levered himself up on his hands and nosed at the god's cheek "I gotta go, babe."

The blond chocked back a cry and threw his arms around the vampire's neck "Don't, don't, don't." he flared his nostrils and pressed his lips hard against his lover's.

Mitchell's whimper got muffled against the god's lips "I really have to, now."

Anders reared back and sucked in a shaky breath "Please be careful, alright?" he brushed away a few locks from the vampire's forehead.

The brunet sucked his lower lip in and nodded "I will do my best." he leaned in to kiss him again "Let's get dressed, yeah?" he thumbed away a stray tear from the god's cheek and stood up, reaching a hand out for Anders.

The blond nodded and used Mitchell's hand to pull himself up to his feet, then started collecting his clothes from the floor to pull them on, slowly. He glanced over at the vampire who was wearing everything as fast as he could until he stopped and perked up, making Anders cock a brow as he slipped on his sneakers.

"Uh... Here." he fished one of his rings from the pocket of his jeans and took a step towards the blond who was giving him a weird look. "Oi, don't look at me like that." he scowled and grabbed Anders' left wrist.

The blond widened his eyes and nearly drew his hand back "What are you-?" he flared his nostrils, eyes frantically wandering around the room "Uh... Are you gonna get down on one knee, or something?" he swallowed hard.

Mitchell widened his eyes and then shook his head "Shut up! Y-you'll give it back if I don't die." he clenched his fist around the ring.

Anders blinked as he looked at him with a slightly slacked jaw, then shrugged "A-alright." he nodded.

The vampire inhaled sharply before slipping the ring on the god's finger, then looked up at his deeply flushed face "Think about me when you look at it, yeah?" he smiled, endeared by the blond's embarrassment.

The blond pursed his lips and rolled his eyes "I don't need a ring to think about you." his gaze dropped not so casually on the ring and failed to bite back a small smirk.

The vampire pulled him into a soft kiss and then reared back "Bye, my love." he stroke the back of the blond's hand with his thumb.

The god sucked in a deep, shaky breath "Bye, John." he flared his nostrils and kissed him deeply one last time.

And with a last whispered  _bye_ , Mitchell left the office.

Anders stayed still for a few moments, stunned as he wiped away a couple of tears that he hadn't been able to control, then moved to pick up the iPhone from his desk. There were at least four calls and a couple texts, all of them from Helen.

" _Baby, I went home because I needed to get changed. Meet me here."  
"Why the hell aren't you picking up?! It's getting late for lunch!"_

Anders felt the irresistible urge to throw the cellphone against the wall but refrained from doing so, only because it was expensive and because he needed it. In that moment, while he thought that he could be losing Mitchell forever he decided that, no matter what, he was going to dump Helen as soon as he got home. He slipped on his jacket, touched the ring with his thumb and stalked out of the office.

* * *

Anders knew that this time the whole Bragi-Idunn attraction thing wasn't going to work, he was more determined than ever and even if she was going to throw a tantrum he wasn't going to change his mind.

He tried to drive as fast as possible, since he knew that it wasn't exactly safe to linger in the streets for too long with Herrick around.

He waited a couple of minutes into the car though, taking deep breaths as he looked down at Mitchell's ring. He still didn't know what he was going to do if the vampire was going to die, he didn't want to think about it, actually, but by the way the brunet had explained the situation to him, the chances that he would have survived seemed slim. There just couldn't be a single easy thing in life, could it? What frustrated him the most was that Anders couldn't even use his powers on Herrick to talk him into leaving Mitchell alone, because he wasn't powerful enough yet.

"What a shit god..." he murmured as he finally retrieved the car keys and climbed out of the SUV, locking it up before quickly getting into the building and flying up the stairs.

He took another deep breath before sliding the card key into the slot "Honey, I don't think we have time for lunch, I gotta talk t-" he froze as he looked down at the floor, feeling his heart skip a beat.

Helen was sprawled into a puddle of blood on the floor, her clothes were still all in place but her neck was badly wounded.

"Fuck... He's been here." he gulped, paralyzed by fear.

His house had already been visited, but the vampire could have come back anytime to finish the job, it couldn't be Helen he was looking for and Anders was painfully aware of that. He shut the door behind him and pressed his back against it, not daring to get closer to Helen's corpse, he was too shaken up for that, but thankfully his brain was still working and the most obvious thing to do was calling Mitchell.

He tried not to stare for too long at the dead woman on the floor as he waited for the vampire to pick up, muttering and cursing under his breath as panic spread through his body, making him shiver and pant.

" _Baby... It's harder if you keep cal-"_

"He's been here! He's been here, he killed Helen!" he cried out as squeezed his eyes shut.

" _What?! He... He killed her? Are you sure?"_

The blond let out a strangled groan as he pressed himself further against the door "Yes! I'm looking right at her!" he was starting to hyperventilate even if he knew that he needed to keep as calm as possible to still be able to talk to Mitchell.

" _Fuck! Fuck! He came looking for you first, I fucking knew it!"_ there was a brief pause as the brunet was lost in thought, then he spoke again  _"Look, you gotta leave her there and flee the flat. I need you and the others to lock yourselves into the bar. It is Mike's house, too and Herrick can't enter a private building uninvited."_

Anders was still too shocked to understand everything he was hearing, but he did his best "What? But he killed her in here!" he growled as he wrenched his eyes away from the cadaver.

" _She probably told him to come inside, trust me on this. Call everyone and tell them to meet at the bar and not let strangers get inside."_

The blond threw his head back, hitting it against the door but not really feeling any pain as he panicked "I'm scared, John... What if he gets me on the way to the bar?" he felt weak in his knees as he looked down at Helen.

" _I'm gonna call him right now and tell him not to do anything else because I will meet him tonight outside the bar, so I can keep an eye on you guys."_

The god sucked in a sharp breath, then widened his eyes as his insides twitched "Shit, I gotta puke." he placed a hand over his stomach and swallowed hard.

" _Baby, calm down. Do as I told you, okay? Just trust me."_

Anders couldn't reply as he felt his stomach struggling for release, he ran to the bathroom, slipping over Helen's blood in the process, and threw up into the toilet.

" _Babe? Anders? Anders!"_

The blond kept retching for several moments until he fell flat on his butt and placed the phone over his ear again "I can't do this..." he whined.

" _Anders, you have to. Now call everyone, I'll see you at the bar, yeah?"_

The god scrubbed a hand over his face "This feels too real now... I don't want you to fight him. I don't want him to kill you." he whispered as he grimaced at the sour taste in his mouth.

" _Don't think about this, now. Just do as I said and stay safe, okay? I told you that I'll see you at the bar, alright?"_

Anders was idly trying to steady his breathing, panic still pumping through his veins, but the fact that he was going to see Mitchell again before the big fight made him feel slightly better "O-okay..." he gulped "I'll see ya."

" _Yes, love. See ya."_

He sucked in a shuddering breath and pushed his cellphone into the pocket of his jacket with shaky hands as he tried to stand on wobbly legs. He flushed the toilet and walked over to the sink to brush his teeth.

There was a dead woman in his apartment, the woman he had shared a bed with for nearly a couple weeks. Anders thanked his shallowness for not being attached to Helen, not even in the slightest, or else he didn't know how he could have left her laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood like Mitchell had told him to do.

The blond called his brothers and grandfather, not bothering to give them too much information but sounding serious and mandatory enough to convince them that something big was up and it would have been better to do as they were told. As for Ty, he didn't even have to tell him anything because Mitchell had already updated him when he got back at his place, and Anders would have been a liar to say that he hadn't felt the nasty pull of jealousy twisting his stomach.

He stared at the pale reflection of his face in the mirror after he had washed it for the third time before actually finding the courage to rub a towel over it and step out of the bathroom. His gaze dropped on Helen, at the flashy green dress that looked even brighter in contrast with her greyish skin and blue lips. Suddenly Olaf's words came back to him, reminding him how the story goes for Idunn and her Bragi "It ends badly for her." he whispered to himself as he stuffed a hand into his pocket, fingers clenching tightly around his car keys "I'm sorry..." he shook his head and stepped out of the flat, still hoping that Herrick wasn't going to find him while drove to Mike's.

* * *

Herrick's number was in Mitchell's old cellphone, so he frantically searched for it on the bottom of a bag that was still filled with his stuff.

"Do you think it's actually safe for us to all go at Mike's?" Ty was pacing around the bedroom, hands running through his short jet black hair.

"Nowhere is really safe with Herrick around, but it's safer if I'm with all of you." the vampire huffed as he tried to convince him that there was really no other way to handle things "Fucking finally!" he sighed and pulled the old mobile from the bag.

"Battery must be dead." the god mumbled and dropped on the bed.

Mitchell's eyes dropped shut and an annoyed groan abandoned his throat "Fuck!" he grabbed the bag and turned it over, emptying it on the floor and scattering everything around to find the charger as quick as possible. Once he found it he plugged it into the nearest socket "C'mon, c'mon..." he chanted as he waited for the phone to finally switch on, then quickly searched for Herrick's number "That's it!" he looked over at Ty "Gimme that." he pointed at his other mobile.

Ty arched a brow and looked down at the cellphone sitting on the nightstand, grabbing it in order to hand it over "God if he gets Axl..."

Mitchell flared his nostrils and glared at him "He won't get him, alright? I'll make sure of it!" he growled.

The god folded his arms on his chest uncomfortably and looked away, shutting up.

The vampire snorted and shook his head before dialing Herrick's number into his new cellphone. He hesitated as his thumb hovered the call button before actually pressing it. It took several seconds before Herrick's laughter filled his ear, of course the bastard knew it was him.

" _Mitchell, Mitchell... You're quite predictable, y'know?"_

"You prick, why did you kill the goddess?" the brunet's voice was a low growl.

Ty stared at him gulping and shifting into his seat, fingers curling around the sheets.

" _I told you, I am going to take you back the hard way."_

Mitchell knew the ginger was smiling, he could hear it in his smug voice "This is between us, right? There's just no way I am coming back to Bristol... But you can still have it your way." he nodded, even though the other vampire couldn't see him.

A long pause, and then the smugness in Herrick's voice was gone, fully replaced by anticipation  _"I'm listening."_

Mitchell pursed his lips and shut his eyes "Fight me. It's the only way." his eyebrows knitting as he spoke "I'd rather you kill me than go back killing for you." he gulped as his gaze raised to meet Ty's.

The god flared his nostrils and looked down at his lap.

" _Fair enough, I wouldn't have it any other way. You either come back with me or you die. Sounds like a plan."_

The grin was back in his voice and it enraged Mitchell like nothing else could "If I die, though, you have to leave the gods alone, do you understand me?"

A scoff, and then the smug voice again  _"Whatever tickles your fancy. I'll leave the Norse idiots_ _alone, but their time to face the vampires will come, sooner or later. Hope you're aware of that."_

Mitchell rolled his eyes "Yeah, better later, though."

" _Where are we meeting for the showdown?"_

"Outside the bar, I take it you already know which one, right?" the brunet replied pronto.

" _You can bet on it."_

"Around eleven?" he raised a brow.

" _As you wish. I hope you've said your prayers..."_

An evil cackle, a click and the call was over, leaving Mitchell both angry and shaken.

Silence fell upon the room for a handful of moments, the god not daring to speak in order not to upset or enrage the vampire even more, giving him all the time he needed to cool down.

"Can you just imagine the look that Mike's gonna give me?" Mitchell sighed and buried his face in his hands.

Ty frowned "It's not your fault that Herrick is bonkers." he shrugged "You didn't know he was gonna come all the way here to make a scene."

The vampire huffed "A scene..." he shook his head "I should have known better." he licked his lips and nodded "I think that... Killing that girl is what got me busted. The vampires here were probably all alerted and were just waiting for me to slip." he shrugged.

The god listened to him, picking at his own lower lip with his fingers "We all make mistakes, you're only-" he was cut off abruptly.

"Human?" he snorted "I beg to differ..." he shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times.

Ty stood up and went to sit on the floor across from Mitchell "Listen... You're more human than many other real humans I know." he placed a hand over his shoulder, squeezing it.

The vampire smiled bitter as he looked over at him "You're a great guy, Ty." he nodded "I know I always tell you, but it's true. You really are."

The god snorted and rolled his eyes "You're just sayin' that 'cause I comforted you." he smirked slightly.

Mitchell shook his head "I'm serious!" he raised his brows and then cocked his head "Can you do me a favor?"

The god knitted his brows "Sure?" he shrugged.

"Whatever happens tonight, should I survive or not... Please go to Dawn and just be happy." he clapped a hand on Ty's knee "Because what you two have... It's rare and beautiful. And you can't let it slip through your fingers."

Ty's eyes darkened as he listened and tried not to look at Mitchell as he spoke "I can't do that... She'll die and I'll have to live knowing that I killed her."

The vampire gave a firm squeeze to the god's knee "You'll find a way, trust me."

Ty shrugged "I'll try..."

Mitchell didn't say anything and just nodded, until his own eyes darkened "One last thing..." he lowered his voice, too.

The god noticed the change and tilted his head, concern written all over his face "What is it?"

The vampire forced himself to look up at Ty "Promise me to take care of Anders, if I die..." he flared his nostrils as a lump formed in his throat "I know he wouldn't be the crying type... But he'll destroy himself somehow. Will you keep him good? For me?" his voice cracked a little.

Ty struggled to choke back his tears at the heartbreaking sight of Mitchell being more scared of what was going to happen to the man he loved than his own fate. "Of course, Mitch. Whatever it takes... I'll make sure he'll be alright." he nodded and pulled him in a tight embrace, the men both clapped each other on their backs before they broke apart, after a short while.

Mitchell looked over at the digital clock on the nightstand and sighed "It's better if we get going, yeah?"

Ty did the same, turning his head to check the time "Yeah, alright." he looked back at the vampire, eyebrows creasing in concern "You feelin' ready?"

Mitchell scoffed and shook his head "Shit no." then he scowled "There's one last thing I need, though." he placed a hand on the floor, bracing himself to stand up.

The god looked up at him, curious "What?" he stood up as well and dusted his jeans off.

"A stake." the vampire ground his teeth and balled his hands into fists. He knew that Herrick would have probably carried one himself, so he needed to be as prepared as the older vampire.

Ty helped him search the house for a piece of wood that could be made into a good stake, Mitchell told him that he could have used a broom handle, but the god reminded him that the one he owned was made of metal and not wood.

"What else could you use?" the god scratched the back of his head as he looked around.

The vampire chewed nervously on his lower lip, hating the fact that time was ticking out and he still hadn't seen Anders "Uh..." he licked the roof of his mouth, still too sidetracked by the thought of his boyfriend to think properly.

Ty raised his brows as he stared at him, waiting.

Mitchell squeezed his eyes shut as he focused "You could like..." his eyes snapped open when something finally popped into his head "Spare a leg from a piece of your furniture?" he shrugged "A chair, perhaps?"

The god nodded, happy to get rid of some of the furniture that reminded him too much of his dead wife "Yeah, of course. Use one of the dining table chairs, I'll just get new ones."

"Perfect." the vampire smirked and walked up to the dining table to fetch one of the chairs, he used his bare hand to snap one of the legs off and then reached the island to grab a butchering knife and sharpen the end in which the leg had broke off.

Ty walked up to the island himself and leaned against it, watching as the vampire shaped the stake "Have you killed many other vampires?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

Mitchell pursed his lips and shook his head "We aren't supposed to kill other vampires, unless one of them has committed a crime and has to be executed." he answered, his eyes still fixed on the stake.

The god gulped at that reply "So... You think there could be consequences?" he furrowed his brows, getting worried.

The vampire shrugged "One thing is sure... The vampires in Bristol won't have a leader anymore, someone will have to pick up where Herrick left off." he still didn't dare looking up "If I kill him, though, I am stopping the revolution he's planning."

Ty's eyes widened "What revolution?"

Mitchell snorted "Something that vampires say that will happen pretty much every decade, or so..." he blew the scobs off the stake, eventually looking over at the god "They always strive to dominate the world." he rolled his eyes "But it's never gonna happen, other supernaturals will always stand in their way."

"...Are you sure this isn't going to turn in some kind of a war?" Tyrone wanted to believe in Mitchell, but he was getting way too scared of the vampire world.

The vampire grimaced "No, this is between Herrick and I. If by any chance I'll be able to defeat him, that will be my way to say that I am completely out of the vampire community and I just want to be left alone."

The god sucked in a deep breath and nodded "Alright..."

Mitchell placed the stake on the island and leaned forward, placing his hands on the smooth, cold surface "Listen to me... If I survive this night, I'm gonna help you all in your quest to find Frigg. Once you'll get your full powers I'm pretty sure that the other vampires won't be able to fight you."

Ty raised his brows "...You think so?"

The vampire smirked and spread his arms "You're gods, Ty!" he was still scared of what was going to happen in a couple hours, but he actually believed what he was saying, and he knew that it would have made Tyrone feel better and more reassured "...And you guys are the closest thing I have to a family, so I'll help you." he nodded.

The god broke into a smile "Alright...  _Brother_." he raised his brows.

They both sniggered, then Mitchell sucked in a deep breath, one of those breaths that weren't vital at all for him but he still felt like taking every once in a while, and slipped the stake in the back of his jeans "Now it's really time to go."

Ty nodded and in a matter of minutes they were both out of the apartment and onto the road.


	11. Chapter 11

_But now, you're the only thing left worth dying for,_ **  
**You give me a reason I can't ignore, **  
**And make me wanna live forever.

  
_You're everything I've been waiting for,_ **  
**For all of these years and a thousand more,  
 _And make me wanna live forever._   


**Live Forever ; Sixx:A.M.**

* * *

It was an odd night, the streets were awfully calm and quiet, only a few people were around but it didn't take long for them to disappear into their homes. There was something apocalyptic about that scenery and it made Anders even more nervous and anxious.

He had never been happier to see the colorful window of Mike's bar in his whole life, so happy that when he pulled his car over, it ended up halfway onto the sidewalk "Screw it." he muttered as he stumbled out of the SUV, locking it up from over his shoulder with a beep of the small remote and went up to knock on the door according to the code they had established.

"I don't personally mind this whole secret society atmosphere, but... Mate, you gotta tell us what the fuck's going on." Axl had barely even cracked the door when he started interrogating his brother.

"Maybe if you let me the fuck in I could explain." Anders shoved him aside and stepped in "It's always nice to see Odin's council all reunited..." then he clicked his tongue when he spotted Michelle sitting on top of the bar, drinking scotch directly from the bottle "Except you, I don't even know why I wanted to nail you so much." he shrugged, genuinely puzzled.

The goddess smirked "That would be 'cause you're a pig and you only ever think with your prick, just like you did when you had the brilliant idea to start the only committed relationship of your pathetic life with a vampire." she took one last swig of scotch and set the bottle a little too hard on the counter.

Olaf rolled his eyes "Here comes the catfight..." he sighed "I don't have enough booze in my system for this, yet." he poured himself a glass of vodka.

Anders huffed and shook his head "Why don't you shut the fuck up, you parasite?"

Michelle shifted her jaw and slid off the counter, ready to walk over to the blond and probably punch him, but Mike grabbed her by one of her wrists "Don't." he shook his head and then shot Anders a glare "Just tell us what's going on, instead of acting like an idiot."

The blond nudged the oracle, not even looking at Mike "Grandpa, pour one for me, too."

"Comin' right up." Olaf winked at his nephew as he re-opened the bottle of Fenrir, pouring a generous glass for Anders.

"Cheers." he grabbed his drink and sipped at it as everyone stared at him expectantly "I know I'm supposed to have a nice way with words and all," he licked his lips, taking another small sip of vodka "but there's no point in sugarcoating this for you."

Axl shrugged "You're always pretty crude, anyway."

Both Zeb and Olaf snorted.

Anders glared at him and downed half of his drink, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt it burning down his throat "The vampire who turned Mitchell is here and has threatened to kill all of his friends." he gestured around the room "Which means  _us_ , unless he goes back to being his right hand in Bristol." he was about to take another sip when he raised his brows "Oh, and he has already killed Helen."

Everyone gasped and stared at him wide-eyed.

"Are you taking the piss, Anders?" Axl's jaw dropped slightly.

Anders shook his head "Nope, not really. If we stay inside here, though, the vampire won't be able to get us, since vampires can't enter private buildings uninvited." he explained quickly before pouring some more vodka into his glass.

Michelle huffed, incredulous "What'd I tell you?"

Anders raised his brows and pointed a finger at her "Shut your whore mouth, thank you." then he quickly glanced at his little brother "No, I am not. Mitchell's gonna come here and he'll try to defeat this other vampire." he nodded, looking down at the floor for a moment "To save us."

Mike's eyes wondered from Michelle to his brother "So you're telling me that there's going to be a fight between vampires... Right outside my bar?"

"Mhm!" Anders hummed as he downed the rest of the vodka, grimacing and slamming the glass onto the bar "Amazing, eh? He could fucking die!" he nodded "And it's all because of you. If you hadn't tried to break Mitchell and I up he wouldn't have killed that girl and this vampire wouldn't have found him!" he growled.

The goddess turned to Mike "I am going upstairs, because I can't stand your brother anymore, you comin'?" she didn't even wait for the god to answer and just moved to climb up the stairs.

Mike watched her leave and then looked at his brother "She has a point, Anders, this vampire is after us because he wants to hurt Mitchell, he did put us in danger." he raised his brows and went upstairs himself.

Anders couldn't believe what he was hearing but he didn't expect his brother to back him up on the matter, he just wanted him to understand and admit that he had made a mistake. "Yeah sure, go after her! She's making everything so much better!" he snarled.

Mikkel stopped halfway on the stairs and looked at his brother "At least she's not the one who could get us all killed." he cocked his head and went upstairs.

Ty and Mitchell arrived at the bar a few minutes before ten – not too long after Michelle and Mike had disappeared into their room - the vampire needed to spend at least that hour he had left with Anders, even if he had to face Mike's anger.

The god knocked twice on the door, paused and knocked four more times, just like it had been established to make sure that they weren't going to open the door to Herrick.

Everyone was startled by the knocking, but Anders rushed to open the door "That was about time!" the blond pulled Mitchell inside the bar by his coat and kissed him.

"I know, I'm sorry." the brunet shook his head and grabbed the god's face in his hands as he kissed him back.

Ty cleared his throat and pushed past them to walk up to the others.

The vampire pulled back to whisper into Anders' ear "How mad is Mike?"

The blond shrugged "He's a dipshit, just ignore him, eh?" he kissed the brunet's lobe and let his hands slide down to the brunet's hips "What the-" he scowled and wrapped his fingers around the stake that Mitchell was hiding in the back of his jeans, tugging it out.

The vampire raised his brows "Careful with that!"

Axl and Zeb exclaimed in amazement.

"Whoa! Is that a real stake?" Zeb bursted, unable to contain his excitement.

Both Anders and Mitchell glared at him.

"It's... Just a sharpened piece of wood, no big deal." the vampire shrugged and took the stake from the god's hand, hiding it back where it belonged and walking up to hug Axl, Olaf and Zeb, who greeted him with a choir of  _hey_  and a firm pat on the back.

The blond had followed him and hadn't stopped glaring at Ty since he had stepped into the bar. It was the first time he had seen him after the fight and he still couldn't help but hate him for screwing his boyfriend.

"Turns out that you  _are_  a dangerous guy, after all." Michelle's voice came from the stairs as she came back downstairs.

Mitchell flared his nostrils and watched as the goddess walked over to the counter with Mikkel, who was sporting the usual unfriendly glare. "On occasion." he teased with a cocked brow "Tonight I'm the one who's gonna save your arses, though."

The brunette chuckled and folded her arms across her chest "Sure, you're gonna be a martyr."

Anders couldn't help but step in "Listen, Sjöfn... I think you might wanna shut up before I punch a woman in the mouth for the first time in my life." he threatened, placing his hands over the wooden surface of the bar.

The vampire clapped a hand on the blond's shoulder "Just leave it. She's not worth ruining your record."

Mike kept silent, pouring himself a pint and studying his brother and girlfriend picking on each other for the umpteenth time that night. He was starting to think that since Mitchell was there, hadn't run away and was ready to fight, maybe they should have given him a chance.

"He's ready to die in order to save us, do you understand that?" Anders kept going, narrowing his eyes at the goddess.

"And you believe him, right?" Michelle shrugged "You believe that he won't turn his back on us on the last minute and kill us all with his friend." she snickered "I'm sorry, but this is just incredibly stupid, even for you, Bragi."

"Herrick is not my friend, and don't you dare calling him stupid once again in my presence." Mitchell hissed as his eyes turned black.

"Doing that thing with your eyes doesn't help your case." Michelle shook her head, a smug smirk curving her lips "You're only proving your true, violent nature!"

Axl, Zeb and Olaf flinched, Ty only clenched his fists because he knew how mad the vampire must have been just hearing those stupid allegations.

"John, don't." Anders ground his teeth "She's not worth it, remember?"

Mitchell blinked his eyes back to normal and made his way to the door, knowing that all eyes were on him.

"Where are you going?" the blond furrowed his brows.

"Outside, getting ready." the vampire pulled the door open and stepped out of the bar.

Anders looked back at Michelle and Mike "I know you're both happy that you might get rid of him for good, but you have no idea how wrong your opinions on him are." he shook his head and followed the brunet outside.

"Oh, I'm sure my heart's going to break when he'll finally die." Michelle rolled her eyes as she watched the blond god walk out of the bar.

Mike shot her a glare and shook his head "I think that's enough."

"...But he's not gonna die, is he? I mean, he's one of the strongest vampires ever, right?" Zeb raised his brows in hope that someone would agree with him.

Olaf gave him a sympathetic smile and clapped a hand on his shoulder "I'm sure he'll do his best." he nodded.

"When this Herrick guy comes... I wanna watch." Axl folded his arms across his chest.

Ty gave him a severe look "Axl, no. If Herrick was to attack you it would be the end."

"He won't get me, I'll still be inside! Mitchell needs our support. He needs to know that his friends are here for him." the youngest Johnson insisted.

"Yes! He needs us!" Zeb cut in, obviously "We'll stay in a safe zone, where Herrick can't come in." he nodded.

Michelle made a gagging noise and rolled her eyes before going back upstairs, sick of hearing about everyone's attachment to that demon.

"We could hold the bad guy back with religious symbols!" Olaf snapped his fingers and raised his brows "Does... Any of us have a little cross or something?" he arched a brow.

Ty, Axl and Zeb looked at one another and then shook their heads.

"Of course..." he oracle sighed.

"I might..." Mike cut in, and everyone stared at him in disbelief "What?" he scowled.

"We just... Didn't expect you to hop on the bandwagon. Weren't you happy to get rid of Mitchell?" Ty blinked, puzzled.

The oldest of the brothers rolled his eyes "I thought Michelle was right, I really did. But now? He is ready to die for our safety. For  _Anders'_  safety." he shook his head "I'm ashamed of myself for what I put him through."

More shocked stares, and then Olaf stepped ahead to cup his nephew's cheeks from above the bar "I knew you were a good man, Mike." he grinned "And I hope you'll get the chance to tell him."

Mikkel nodded "Me too." he smiled softly "I'm gonna go see if I can find anything with a cross." he said before he disappeared upstairs.

* * *

The air was chilly and there was a mild wind blowing and making Mitchell's curls sway gently as he stared blankly in the distance. He was thinking about all the rampage ha had done in the past with Herrick, the bloodbaths, the fights and the feeling of being indestructible and invincible that came from it all. He had done many horrible things, he had been a horrible person and he was afraid that he could have gone back to be like that all over again, and just thinking about that made him wish for Herrick to kill him that night, because he couldn't have handled it if one day he would hurt, disappoint, or worse, kill Anders.

He heard the door of the bar open and shut, then the scent of Anders' skin grazed his nostrils, making him smile softly. "You should stay inside." he glanced over at the god, sucking on his cigarette.

Anders shrugged and leaned against the wall looking up at the vampire "Can't be arsed." he snatched the fag from Mitchell's long fingers and took a deep drag of smoke "Do you want me to leave?" he cocked his head, taking another puff of tobacco before handing him back the cigarette.

The brunet rolled his eyes as he took the cancer stick in his hand "'Course not, dick." he muttered.

Anders tipped his chin up and exhaled the smoke in thick greyish coils, keeping quiet for a while before he folded his arms across his chest "Are you scared?"

The vampire sucked on the cigarette and nearly choked on the smoke as he scoffed "I'm fucking terrified!" he shook his head "But what's a vampire to do?" he shrugged a shoulder.

The god raised his brows "Not challenge his potential killer, not get killed and stay with his boyfriend?" he pursed his lips "Dunno, really."

The brunet looked at him dead in the eye "Sure, if it was an option." he took the last drag of tobacco, then flicked the butt of the cigarette away. He took a glimpse of Anders' left thumb fidgeting nervously at the ring he gave him "It kinda suits ya." he smiled softly.

The blond scowled "What does? The mask of sheer terror I'm wearing? The way in which my sphincter is clenching from anxiety? Or maybe the gut wrenching ache in the pit of my stomach that is-" he was going to continue with the verbal diarrhea if Mitchell hadn't physically stopped him.

"Shut up!" the brunet laughed as he grabbed him by his shoulders "I meant my ring!" he shook his head as he kept sniggering.

Anders widened his eyes and looked down at the metallic band around his ring finger "Of course." he cleared his throat.

"Is your sphincter really clenching?" he chuckled as he pressed his forehead against the god's.

The blond shook his head as he chuckled softly himself "I'm scared, Mitch..." he sucked in a breath and let his eyes drop shut "If I lose you tonight..." he shrugged "What the fuck am I supposed to do?" he pulled back to stare into warm, dark eyes.

Mitchell frowned, his hands both traveled up to rest over Anders' cheeks "You'll be fine! You have your family, your quest! You're going to become real gods, babe!" he smiled softly with raised eyebrows.

Anders scoffed "Have you met us? We're a bunch of dicks who are never gonna be able to find Frigg. My older brother trusts one of the people who has tried to screw us all from the first moment we met her, more than me!" he rolled his eyes.

The brunet shrugged "You'll be fine, Anders. You were fine before you met me."

The blond shoved him back "That's exactly my point, I  _was_  fine! But you came and turned my world upside down. Mitchell I don't wanna be without you!" he growled full of anger, frustrated by how lightly the vampire seemed to be taking him.

Mitchell widened his eyes as he stumbled backwards, surprised by the sudden outburst but then shook his head "I'm sorry, love... I never meant to make you suffer." he stepped ahead and looped his arms around his boyfriend "I want to survive for you, for us. I just can't assure you anything."

The blond nearly pushed him away again, but then melted against the vampire's body "I know, you arsehole!" he growled just before their lips sealed in a slow, deep kiss and Anders buried his fingers into Mitchell's soft curls.

The brunet pressed the god against the wall, humming into the kiss and hooking a hand to the back of his neck. He pulled away just enough to speak "You're my savior, don't you forget it." he whispered.

Anders shivered at those words and at the feeling of the vampire's cold breath ghosting over his lips "Sure, I'm letting you get yourself killed, totally savior-like." he rolled his eyes.

Mitchell shook his head "Shush, it's not about this and you know it." and right before the blond could speak again he swallowed his words in his mouths.

Anders wasn't completely lost in the kiss, though, his senses were oddly sharper than ever, he was kissing his boyfriend back, yet he could feel a strange pinching sensation on the back of the hand he had buried into the vampire's hair. He heard a low noise, nearly inaudible, a hiss so soft that he thought he was only dreaming about it. He quickly blinked his eyes open and saw him: black eyes, sharp fangs, ginger hair, Herrick was holding up a stake, ready to murder his unfaithful child.

Anders reacted on pure instinct, fear and adrenaline rushing through his body like a drug and giving him the strength to scream and hurl Mitchell aside.

The brunet fell face first on the concrete "Fuck!" he growled as he tasted his own blood in his mouth, then rolled on his back, sitting up only to feel his heart sink to his lower stomach.

"Ah, for fuck's sake!" Herrick whined as he looked at the stake he had just wasted.

Anders was still pressed against the wall, eyes wide open in shock as he touched the stake jabbed into his chest with shaky fingers. He felt cold all of a sudden and he was struggling to take a breath, the metallic taste of blood was filling his mouth but he refused to spit it out, not wanting the vampires to go crazy over it.

"No!" Mitchell shouted as he threw himself against the ginger, eyes blackening and fangs baring as he tackled his maker to the ground.

Herrick huffed when his back hit the macadam "That's my boy! My violent, full of anger boy!" he guffawed and his eyes turned pitch black as he pushed the younger vampire off of him.

They both pulled themselves up on their feet, glaring at each other as they kept a certain distance between them.

"I thought you were gonna be fair about this! It's our last fight, you shouldn't have made that dick move, Herrick!" Mitchell growled and tried to ignore the moans escaping Anders' throat and the strong smell of his blood. His whole body was shaking with rage, his fists were clenching so hard that his knuckles had turned white and his fingers hurt like hell, just like his clenched jaw was becoming sore.

The ginger scoffed "You made the dick move first, Mitchell! You walked out on me, turned your back on your clan and worse... On your whole race! Did you really expect me to be fair?"

Mitchell didn't even answer to that and just launched himself at his maker all over again, but the ginger was faster and managed to smack him with all his strength and knock him down.

"You're pathetic, look at you! You've got no strength left! You need to feed, Mitchell, you can't go on like this!" Herrick growled and kicked the younger vampire in the stomach.

The brunet groaned and spat out blood, struggling to keep his eyes open only to glance over at the streak of blood that Anders had left on the wall of the bar as he had sunk down on the sidewalk. The blond was squirming, gasping and struggling to do whatever he could to save his own life, but his eyes were still glued to Mitchell, full of fear.

"I don't want to see your face anymore, you're embarrassing for our kind." the ginger spat as he stalked up to Anders to extract the stake from his chest and use it on Mitchell.

It was when the brunet saw Herrick march towards his lover that his force came back, he levered himself up and stumbled forward, fisting at ginger's coat and yanking him back "Leave him alone!" he punched him square in the face, flooring him.

Hearing the screaming and the hustle the Johnsons came running out of the bar despite the danger.

"What the fuck is-" Mike was the first to step out of the bar and see the way in which the vampires were rolling on the floor, each one of them trying to rip the other apart.

Ty pushed past Mikkel, but didn't even get a glimpse of the fight because he had already spotted Anders on the ground "Oh fuck! Anders!" he cried out as he fell to his knees and pulled his brother into his arms.

Mike wrenched his eyes from the clash and covered his mouth with both hands "Holy shit!" he crouched down and slapped Ty's hands away from the stake "Don't touch it! It could be worse if you remove it!"

Olaf quickly pulled off his own shirt and got on his knees "He's gonna bleed out if you take out the stake!" he pressed the shirt around the base of the stake, trying to stabilize it.

Axl was completely paralyzed as he stared at Anders coughing up blood and struggling to stand up as he fisted at both Ty's and Mike's shirts.

Tyrone kept him down "Easy, Anders! Steady! Calm down, calm down! Is worse if you squirm like this!" he idly tried to soothe him.

"J-John..." Anders croaked, spitting out more blood in the process.

Olaf quickly glanced over at the vampires, then back to his nephew "He'll be fine, you just keep calm, alright?" he raised his brows and wiped away the blood from Anders' lips and chin with his hand.

Zeb was standing next to his best friend when he heard the unmistakable sound of bones snapping right before Mitchell howled in pain "Fuck!" he glanced over at the vampires, seeing Herrick covering his bleeding nose and the brunet holding his left broken arm "We need to call an ambulance! This is so fucked up!" the boy shouted, fingers tugging at his own hair in despair.

"No we can't, not with the vampires-" Mike started to explain but then saw Michelle coming out of the bar, in utter shock, at the exact same moment in which Mitchell was about to slam Herrick against the wall she had just steadied herself on. The god quickly stood up and yanked the goddess away, saving her from the brunet's blind fury.

Mitchell pressed his whole body against Herrick's to try and keep him from running away, since he could only use one arm and he was going to need his good hand to stake the ginger.

All eyes went to stare at the two vampires, even if Olaf and Ty were still taking care of Anders who was still coughing and moaning out Mitchell's name.

"He wants to watch, move." Olaf muttered and gently pushed Ty back so that he wasn't blocking Anders' view anymore.

"You fucked my life,  _heaps..._ " the younger vampire panted, his left arm was killing him but he was too furious to care about it "But you did the one thing you shouldn't have done." he flared his nostrils and shook his head "You dared touching the man I love." he growled lowly as his right fingers wrapped tightly around the ginger's throat.

A strangled laugh tumbled out of Herrick's lips, followed by a brief coughing fit "You brought it all on yourself... I just... Armed the bomb... Y-you made it explode." he grinned.

Mitchell kneed Herrick in the groin "Shut the fuck up!" he roared as the older vampire slumped over him. The brunet seized the moment to pull out the stake he was still hiding in the back of his jeans.

The ginger coughed again and reared back, leaning against the wall and grinning at the younger vampire "It's in your DNA, John... The only thing you're good at is killing."

Mitchell hissed and stabbed him right in the middle of his chest "Don't call me John, only one person can."

Herrick groaned and hit the back of his head against the wall "R-right... Only the lover you killed, can..." he smirked, idly gasping for air.

The brunet shook his head, tears streaming down his face "Die already, you bastard!" he shouted and eventually the ginger turned to dust and disappeared.

The stake hadn't even touched the ground yet, but Mitchell had already sunk to his knees beside his boyfriend, the broken arm completely forgotten.

Ty pulled back reluctantly from his brother and so did Olaf, knowing how much the brunet needed to stay with Anders and how much he must have been suffering.

Axl and Zeb exchanged a look and decided that they should have probably called an ambulance. Axl glared at Michelle "What kinda doctor are you?" he made a face, shaking his head as he placed his cellphone over his ear.

Michelle just stared at him, took shaken up to even speak as she clung to Mike's arm with both hands.

"Why did you do that, love? Why?" the vampire cried out "You didn't have to save me!" he placed his forehead against Anders'.

The blond raised a shaky hand and cupped his lover's cheek "I-I'm dying, John..." he coughed and grimaced, eyes dropping shut for the pain.

Mitchell was feeling light headed and the smell of Anders' blood was making him feel sick "No, no you're not-" he took a deep breath through his mouth, trying to calm down "You're not dying!"

Anders dug his fingertips into the vampire's skin and sucked in a shaky breath "I-I love you." he tried to smile "S-sorry it took me so long, b-but..." he spat out more blood as he tried to continue speaking, but Mitchell interrupted him.

"N-no! Don't say that! You're only saying it 'cause you think you're gonna die!" the vampire sobbed and kept himself from holding the blond too tightly with his arm.

By that time everyone had bright eyes and a few tears were shed, Olaf, Ty and Mike were looking away as they tried to give the couple some privacy.

"John, the ring..." Anders moved his left hand away from Mitchell's cheek and placed it in front of the brunet's face to show it to him.

The vampire scowled and looked at the hand puzzled "What about it?" he shrugged his right shoulder.

The god moaned and squeezed one eye shut, breathing was hard and speaking had become painful "Y-you're alive..." he nodded faintly "Take it back."

A strangled cry escaped the brunet's throat as he shook his head, tears spilling over the god's wounded chest "It's yours now, keep it." he sobbed and wiped away the blood from Anders' lips before pressing a gentle kiss to them. He didn't want to taste that blood he had never craved for, and sure as hell he didn't want to accidentally start lusting over it in that very moment.

"I r-really love you..." the blond whispered, his soft voice broken as he coughed.

"I know, babe. I've always known." he nodded, sniffling "I love you, too." he licked his own lips.

"Yggdrasil!" Olaf shouted out all of a sudden, scaring everyone.

Mitchell widened his eyes as he stared up at him "What was that?"

"The tree of life! Anders fetched a branch from Norway!" the oracle continued, flailing his hands "He must have it at his place!"

Michelle suddenly perked up "I-I took it from his house."

Anders groaned "Not only she's a bitch, she's also a thief!"

Being the situation different, Mitchell would have probably laughed at the blond's remark "I'm not following you." he just said instead, confused.

Olaf ignored him and looked at Michelle "You brought it here?"

The goddess furrowed her brows "Of course I did!"

"Fucking go get it, then!" Axl growled.

Michelle glared at him "Lose the attitude, pretend-Odin."

Axl flared his nostrils and ground his teeth.

"Alright, alright. Let's just get the damn stick!" Mike grabbed the goddess by her shoulders and stirred her towards the door, quickly walking upstairs to get the branch.

Mitchell blinked, more puzzled than ever and looked down at Anders "What are they even talking about?" he asked before widening his eyes because the blond had closed his own "No! No, no, no, no, Anders!" he cried out and shook him, trying to wake him up.

Everyone crouched down, panicking and calling out for him.

"He's still alive, the soul of Bragi hasn't left his body, yet." Olaf reassured them and grabbed his nephew's wrist to check his pulse "He's still here... Barely, but he's here." he glanced over at the door and saw Michelle and Mike coming back without the stick "What? You haven't found it?"

The goddess shooed everyone away but Mitchell, and got on her knees "Shut up and just watch." she wrapped her right hand around the stake and counted to three under her breath, getting ready to yank it out.

The vampire stared at her in disbelief "Jesus, you'll kill him!" he tried to stop her by pushing her away.

"Hold him back, I know what I'm doing!" Michelle snapped, quickly Ty and Olaf struggled to hold Mitchell by his shoulders as he wriggled, while the goddess quickly extracted the stake only to press both hands on the wound.

Anders shouted in pain when the stake was removed and the vampire nearly knocked Ty and Olaf out cold, refraining only when he saw some sort of light glowing from the goddess's palms and the hole in Anders' chest miraculously disappeared.

"Holy shit!" Mitchell exclaimed, taking the words out of everyone's mouths, even Anders'.

The blond sat up, running both hands over his blood soaked shirt and not feeling any pain at all "It really works, then!" he looked at Michelle "You healed me, I like you a little, now!"

The goddess rolled her eyes "I can stake you again in the blink of an eye." she threatened.

Anders was just about to reply with a witty remark but he was suddenly glomped by his entire family, Zeb included, and yes, even Mike couldn't help but launching himself at his brother, relieved to know that he wasn't gonna die anymore.

Michelle sighed and stood up, looking at her blood smeared hands and her completely ruined clothes "Fucking Johnsons..." she muttered, but failed to hold back a smile as she watched them.

The distant sound of a hooter startled them all, reminding them that Axl and Zeb had actually called an ambulance that wasn't needed anymore.

"Oh fuck! What do we tell them, now?" Axl widened his eyes as everyone rose to their feet.

Mitchell cleared his throat "Well I do have a broken arm... Even if it's going to heal in a couple of days we could still say that it was for me?" he shrugged his right shoulder.

Anders grinned, looping an arm around the vampire's neck "Isn't my Dracula the smartest?" he planted a kiss on the brunet's cheek, making him smile brightly.

"Who the fuck calls an ambulance for a broken arm?" Ty arched a brow.

"We do, apparently." Mike managed to mutter, then looked at Michelle, Ty and Anders who were covered in blood "Maybe you should all wait inside, it's already suspicious as it is."

"But I-" Anders started, but his older brother immediately cut him off.

"Get the fuck inside the bar, I'll handle this." Mike growled lowly.

The blond cursed at him under his breath and grabbed the vampire by the collar of his shirt "Will you be okay?"

Mitchell smiled and nodded "Of course, now that you're safe I will."

The god smirked and tilted his chin up to kiss him before he rushed inside the bar with the others, leaving only Mike and the vampire on the sidewalk.

There were a few moments of awkward silence before Mitchell spoke up "Do you trust me, now?"

The god cocked his head "I guess I do."

The vampire failed to bite back a smirk "Cool."

* * *

The paramedics hadn't questioned the bloody mess outside the bar, just like they didn't question the fact that apparently they had been called only for a broken arm, and the reason why they never asked a thing was that the paramedics were vampires, all three of them, Mitchell knew of course bu the didn't tell Mike. He insisted to have the god accompany him on the ambulance so that the vampires couldn't ask him questions that he wasn't feeling like answering in that moment.

He was brought to the hospital he worked in, and since he had never seen those paramedics he figured that they had started working there only recently and probably just because they had heard about the infamous John Mitchell being a cleaner there. Mitchell knew that he was going to have to deal with them, at one point, and was extremely relieved when he was given a couple of weeks off from work for the injury.

Mike had called a cab to get back home, no matter how many times the vampire had told him that it was dangerous because the driver could have looked at them through the rear-view mirror and he wouldn't be able to see Mitchell, but the god was too exhausted to cope with a whiny vampire.

Luckily the driver never looked back at them through the mirror, or so Mitchell hoped, but he never freaked out so he figured that even if he did he hadn't noticed anything too weird.

During the taxi ride Mitchell had received a text from Anders that said he was staying the night at Ty's and was waiting for him in bed. The vampire had to bite his lower lip really hard not to scream in relief, happiness and excitement, right before he told the driver the address he needed to reach.

It suddenly hit Mitchell that Helen's corpse was still at Anders' and they would have had to take care of it as soon as possible... Even if in that moment she really was the last of his concerns.

* * *

Mitchell used his spare key to enter Ty's house and softly when he found the god lying on the couch "Hey..."

Ty sat up right away and gave him a concerned look "Hey! You okay?"

The vampire nodded "Yeah, I'll be fine soon." he gestured at the cast he was sporting, then licked his lips "I'm sorry about tonight and... All the mess." he sighed.

Ty shrugged "Don't think about it, the important is that everyone's safe, eh?"

Mitchell nodded "Yes..." he licked his lips and added with a tilt of his head "Thank you. For everything."

The god scowled, even if he was smiling "Maybe I should be thanking you for saving us."

The vampire scoffed "I nearly got Anders killed, that's... Not exactly how I was hoping things would go." he smiled bitter.

"But I'm fine."

Both Ty's and Mitchell's heads shot in the direction of Anders' voice.

The blond was leaning against the doorjamb with messy hair and tired look on his face, he was only wearing his boxers and one of Mitchell's t-shirts "Come to bed?" he smirked.

The vampire bit his lower lip and nodded "Sure." he glanced back at Ty "Seriously, thank you." then cracked into a soft smile "Goodnight."

The god nodded and ignored the ghost of jealousy that was starting to haunt him again "'Night." he watched Mitchell scudding over to his brother, then sunk back into the couch.

"My baby has a broken arm, poor thing." Anders whined as he helped the vampire out of his clothes.

Mitchell scoffed "Mine has taken a stake to the chest..." he looked at him, shaking his head.

The blond rolled his eyes "Look, I don't blame you, okay? I did what my guts told me to do." they both laid down on the bed and the god covered them with the blankets.

"I don't know what I would have done if you died..." Mitchell ran his right hand through blond locks "Maybe kill myself." he sighed.

Anders snuggled up to him and rested his head on his chest, slinging his arm around his boyfriend "Now you know how I was feeling."

The brunet rolled his eyes, not answering that.

They both kept quiet for a while and just when the god thought the vampire was asleep, he spoke again "How are you feeling?" the brunet asked as he stroke the god's cheek with the back of his hand.

Anders shrugged "Fully healed and recovered. That stick is amazing." he pressed a kiss to the crook of the vampire's neck "Even though it's not my favorite stick." he whispered with a smirk, hand wandering down Mitchell's stomach.

The vampire rolled his eyes, expecting that kind of answer "No really, Anders. You must be shocked, or something." he tried to tilt his head as much as he could to look at him in the eyes.

The blond sighed, more willing to pretend like nothing had happened than to talk about it, but he knew how concerned his boyfriend was, so he spoke anyway "I remember the pain, it's still vivid and... If I think about it my chest feels tingly." he knitted his brows at that very feeling "But I was watching you the whole time, scared that you wouldn't make it." his voice became softer and lower "I saw how violent you can get, but it didn't scare me. I knew you lost control because Herrick hurt me." he moved a hand over the brunet's chest and started drawing circles on his skin with his finger.

Mitchell smiled while the god spoke, his chest tightening as he got emotional "Even when I wasn't looking, I could still hear you moan and cough. I could smell your blood and sometimes it was distracting... But it reassured me that you were still alive." he explained in the same soft tone as Anders'.

The blond moved his hand from the brunet's chest to the cast, running his blunt nails over it as he listened to his boyfriend speak "I hope he didn't break your arm 'cause you were distracted."

Mitchell smiled softly and shook his head "No, it's 'cause Herrick's always been a bastard." he raised his brows as his fingers played gently with the god's ear.

"It was horrible when you screamed in pain..." Anders cringed just thinking about it.

The vampire pressed a kiss to the top of the blond's head "It was all worth saving you." he hummed softly into golden hair.

Anders tilted his chin up to look at his lover in the dim light of the room "This is a whole new level of wooing, y'know?" he grinned.

Mitchell scowled "I thought we were way past the whole wooing part..."

The god pursed his lips "Right... We're kinda engaged, now." he flipped him off using his ring finger.

The brunet bursted out laughing and nodded "Right." he kissed him and smirked "Anders Johnson said he loves me." he chanted in a childish manner, lips brushing against the blond's.

"Shut up and go the fuck to sleep before I break your other arm." Anders threatened as he punched one of Mitchell's nipples.

"Ow, ow, ow, fuck! Okay! I'm gonna shut up and sleep." he moaned and squeezed his eyes shut "I love you, though."

Anders snorted "Good for you."

The vampire sniggered "Twat."


	12. Chapter 12

  
_You don't want to hurt me,_   
_But see how deep the bullet lies._   
_Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder._   
_There is thunder in our hearts, baby._   
_So much hate for the ones we love?_   
_Tell me, we both matter, don't we?_   


  
_You, be running up that hill_   
_You and me, be running up that hill_   
_You and me won't be unhappy._   


**Running up that hill ; Placebo.**

* * *

Everyone slept in at Ty's, too worn out from the night before. Mitchell woke up several times during the night just to make sure that Anders was still there in his arms, alive and well. He'd smile, kiss his forehead softly and then go back to sleep.

It was around ten that the god woke up with Mitchell's healthy arm around him and furrowed his brows at the realization that he had drooled on the vampire's bare chest, thing that he only did when he was drunk or extremely tired. He wiped it off with his hand and carefully removed Mitchell's arm from around his neck, making sure that he wasn't going to wake him up.

The blond bit his lower lip at the idea that had suddenly popped into his mind, smirking to himself as he shifted under the blankets, trying his best not to make sudden movements as he positioned himself between the brunet's legs. He carefully extracted Mitchell's soft member from his boxers and started worshipping it with gentle open-mouthed kisses and small flicks of the tongue.

The vampire let out a shaky sigh and squirmed, still asleep, as he thought that he was only dreaming about his lover's skilled mouth.

Anders grinned against the hardening flesh in his hand and moved into a more comfortable position. His hand began to pull at Mitchell's member, twisting and stroking as he dipped his head to suck and bite the crook of the brunet's inner thigh.

The vampire groaned somewhat loudly as he woke up and yanked the covers away to find that he wasn't only dreaming about the god's attentions "A-Anders..." he moaned and buried his fingers into golden hair.

The blond twirled his tongue around Mitchell's tip, then licked persistently at the slit and underline, wrenching all kinds of stiffened sounds out of the brunet's throat "Mm, I missed your taste." Anders slurred out right before he enveloped the vampire's tip with his lips and slowly started bobbing his head.

The brunet's hips shook at the warmth of Anders' mouth, he struggled to choke back a moan and decided to move his hand from the blond head to his own lips, covering them to muffle the sounds he could make. He would have loved to groan and cry out loudly, but Ty was sleeping in the living room and sure as hell he was going to hear them.

Anders soon built a rough, steady pace, sucking hard and trying to take as much as he could of his boyfriend down his throat.

Mitchell sunk his teeth into his own palm, his orgasm was building up so fast into the pit of his stomach that it threatened to hit him any moment "Anders, I-I'm gonna come."

The god pulled back, releasing the vampire's erection with a wet pop and licking his own lips as he looked up at him "Then come?" he grinned and placed a soft kiss to the head before going back to suck with the same enthusiasm as before.

The vampire growled against his own hand and it only took a handful of seconds for him to come undone into his boyfriend's mouth, hips unable to keep still as he rode out his climax.

The blond flared his nostrils, inhaling sharply through his nose before he swallowed Mitchell's load and crawled up to smirk smugly at him "'Morning, Twilight."

The brunet gave a throaty laugh and ran his hand through Anders' hair, his fingers gripping firmly at the short locks on the back of his head "I'm not smacking you just 'cause-" he gulped and licked his somewhat chapped lips "...th-that was the best good morning,  _ever_."

Anders laughed and cocked a brow "Oh, I know. You deserved it, after all you've done last night." he smirked and placed a soft kiss on the vampire's lips.

Mitchell kissed him back and knitted his brows "You nearly died, you're the one who deserves to be  _goodmorninged_  more." he tipped his head up and nibbled on the blond's lower lip.

The god raised his brows "I could always sit on your dick, eh?"

The vampire pursed his lips and nodded "Sure, sounds like a plan." he shrugged "Just give it a minute, though." he chuckled and moved his hand over the middle of Anders' chest, right where he had been staked.

Anders flinched slightly, not because it hurt or anything, it was just his memory playing a number on his nerves.

Mitchell furrowed his brows "Are you okay?"

The blond rolled his eyes "Of course I am, I'm grand." he sat on the brunet's pelvis and shifted his gaze from a nightstand to the other "So, where does my brother keep the lube?"

The vampire sighed and pointed at the nightstand on the left of the bed "Over there."

Anders glared down at his boyfriend "I was really hoping you wouldn't know." he pinched one of Mitchell's nipples and twisted it, merciless.

The brunet howled and slapped the god's hand away "Ow! And it's the same fucking nipple as last night, you dick!"

The blond ignored him and stretched over to the nightstand, pulling the top drawer open, drew the bottle of lube out of it and placed it on the mattress before he awkwardly removed his own boxers. Anders was just about to slick his hands with the cold liquid when Ty knocked on the door "You gotta be fucking kidding me." he growled lowly.

Mitchell sat halfway up, brows raising as his eyes wandered from the door to his boyfriend "Should we answer?" his voice was almost a whisper.

" _Guys... Dawn just called me. Apparently the police's at your place."_

Anders and Mitchell exchanged confused looks before saying in unison "Helen!"

The blond grimaced and dropped his head on his chin "But I'm rock hard, now!" he cried.

The vampire bit his lower lip "I know, but... Don't you think we should go?"

The god glared down at him "I said I'm rock hard." he deadpanned.

Mitchell rolled his eyes "We'll shag when we're done dealing with the cops?" he suggested.

Anders pointed at his own erection "Rock. Hard. This isn't going down soon." he cocked a brow.

The brunet scoffed and wrapped his right hand around the god's erection "I'll have to be quick." he warned as he started stroking him in a firm, quick pace.

The blond placed his hands on the vampire's chest, bracing himself as he smirked down at him "Fine by me, but I'm still riding you later. Crime scene or not." his voice broke on the last word and a loud moan tumbled out of his throat.

Mitchell furrowed his brows "Your brother is right outside the door, keep it down!" he hissed through his teeth, giving Anders' hard-on a squeeze.

The god broke into a huge grin "That's exactly why I'll be as loud as I can." he rocked his hips along with the vampire's strokes, increasing the friction and groaning loudly on purpose.

The brunet widened his eyes "Shut up or I'll stop right now!" he loosened his grip as he spoke.

"No, no, keep going!" Anders cried and clasped his hand around Mitchell's fist, tightening the grip all over again.

Mitchell knew that Anders wasn't going to keep his promise, but he liked to watch the way his blue eyes squeezed shut, how his white teeth sunk into his lower lip or how his jaw slacked when he panted. He could get off just by watching and feeling his boyfriend trembling and squirming when he was so close to his orgasm. "Are you gonna be a good boy and come for me?" he asked in a low, husky voice.

The god gulped and nodded "Y-yes, I'm close." he moved his hand away from Mitchell's and rested it on the mattress "Shit, shit, I'm  _so_  close." he groaned and dipped his head, his jaw dropped and his hot breath ghosted over the brunet's lips.

The vampire slightly increased the pressure and speed of his strokes "C'mon." he whispered before he licked the roof of Anders' opened mouth.

Anders quickly deepened the kiss, his hips frantically rocking along with the strokes as his climax finally hit him hard and he unloaded himself all over Mitchell's hand and chest.

Mitchell grinned up at the flustered god "Are you ready to go, now?"

Anders collapsed on his side with a moan "Fuck off."

The vampire chuckled and pressed a quick kiss on the blond's forehead before he sat up and grabbed a packet of tissues from a drawer to clean himself up a bit.

"Oh. You know where everything is in this room, eh?" Anders snagged a tissue for himself.

The brunet arched an eyebrow "I'm pretty sure Helen knew where everything was in our house, too." he shrugged his good shoulder as he wiped up his chest "Except that she slept with you for all this time, while I only slept with Ty once."

The god didn't reply, he just rolled on his back as he finished cleaning himself up.

They both kept quiet for a while, and Mitchell had started getting into his own clothes when Anders finally spoke "She was driving me nuts, though. She was a control freak and shit, you'll see what she did to the apartment!" he pushed himself off the bed and borrowed another one of the vampire's shirts, even if they looked a little baggy on him.

The brunet glanced at him with furrowed brows "What do you mean? What did she do to the apartment?" then he tried really hard to bite back a smile when he saw him wearing another one of his shirts.

The blond sighed "You'll see..." then he cocked a brow "Why are you smiling like that?"

Mitchell sniggered "It's just that you're so cute with my shirt on." he smirked.

Anders groaned "I am not cute, for fuck's sake!" he rolled his eyes "You better not get all sappy and shit or I'll dump your blood sucking arse."

Mitchell scowled "My arse doesn't suck blood." he gave him a crooked smirk as he zipped up his jeans and miraculously managed to button them up using just one hand.

Anders raised his brows "No, you're right. Your arse swallows my cock."

The brunet shook his head as he struggled to pull on his shirt "God of poetry."

The god chuckled and walked up to his boyfriend "Do you need me to help your cock swallowing injured arse?"

The vampire sighed "That'd be great." he glared down at his broken arm "I can't wait to take this bloody thing off."

Anders helped him out with the shirt and ran his fingers over the cast "When will the bone heal?"

Mitchell shrugged "Tonight? Tomorrow morning? I don't know. Shouldn't take too long, though."

The blond pursed his lips "Cool. And you have all those days off, too. We should take advantage of that." he grinned and rubbed a hand across the vampire's chest.

The vampire frowned "No, you need to look after the company and sweet talk your clients into giving you all their money." he mocked him with a slight grin.

"It's alright, Dawnsie can cope for a couple days." the god nodded with a shrug. "I'll let her bring her cat to work."

The brunet sighed "Dawn will kill you." he tilted his head to the side as he added "And I won't save you from her wrath." then squinted at him "...And I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a cat."

Anders scowled "Harsh." of course he completely ignored the cat part, as usual.

Mitchell chuckled and shoved him playfully "Let's go deal with the cops. I have a feeling you'll have to talk them into not charging you with murder." he smirked.

The blond pulled the door of the bedroom open "Thank fuck I'm Bragi, eh?" he glanced at his brother who was drinking some coffee, trying not to look too embarrassed for what he had heard just a handful of minutes earlier "Hey, we're off to my place but we need a ride to Mike's. My car's out there, y'know."

Ty furrowed his brows as he stared at them "You're both scarily relaxed for what you're gonna have to deal with." he blinked.

Anders raised his brows "That would be because I just had the breakfast of the champions with a side of orgasm. It really helps soothing your nerves, you should try sometimes." he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Mitchell was looking down at the cast and scratching it absentmindedly – even if what really itched was the skin underneath – and nearly fell over when he heard the blond's answer.

Ty widened his eyes in a mixture of shock and rage, he slammed the mug on the island, then stalked up to the front door, grabbing the van keys on the way out as he cursed under his breath.

Anders looked up at his boyfriend, his lower lip tucked between his teeth as he grinned proud of himself.

The vampire shook his head "You're such a gross wanker."

"But you love me, anyway." the god stated with a nod before he walked out of the flat.

The brunet rolled his eyes and just followed his boyfriend outside.

Anders didn't even make an effort to behave during the car ride, still dropping little hints or being way too explicit about what had happened in his brother's bed.

Mitchell was forced to press a hand on the blond's mouth a couple of times to shut him up before Ty would pull over the car and kick his brother's ass.

Once they had finally reached the bar Anders reminded his brother that if he wanted to rub one off in the loneliness of his now empty flat, he'd better be thinking about Dawn and not his boyfriend. That was exactly when the vampire had to physically stop Tyrone from punching Anders in the throat and haul his boyfriend out of the van.

"I'm so, so sorry, Ty. He's a dick." Mitchell bit his lower lip.

"I know damn well, I've known him my whole life and he's lucky you love him or else-" the god started but the vampire interrupted him.

"You'd bash his skull in, yeah." Mitchell sighed.

"Are you coming or not?" Anders inquired as he poked his head into the van "Even though you already did earlier."

Both Ty and Mitchell glared at him.

"Suddenly is winter, funny eh?" the blond commented as he rubbed his hands together and his teeth rattled.

Ty flared his nostrils and clenched his jaw.

"Thanks Ty." Mitchell nodded as he looked back at him "I'll come pick up my stuff as soon as we'll be done with the police."

Ty shrugged "No problem, do as you like."

Anders was about to come up with another rude comment but the vampire was quick enough to jump out of the van and stir him in the direction of the SUV "You stopped being funny about a hundred years ago. Now you're just annoying." he growled as he watched Ty's van leave.

"Are you in love with my brother?" the god asked, blue eyes narrowing under knitted eyebrows.

The brunet looked at him puzzled and shrugged "What are you on about?"

Anders unlocked the car "Then stop being so worried about him. He's a grown up iceman who has made a big mistake, so he's gonna pay for it." that being said Anders climbed into the SUV.

Mitchell huffed exasperated and got into the car himself.

* * *

When they arrived to their place the street was crowded with neighbors and random curious people all standing around the cop that was asking everyone to kindly clear the road and go back to their houses. There was an ambulance riding up the sidewalk and three police cars were blocking the traffic as they were parked around the crime scene tape.

"Aw, shit. Now people are definitely gonna talk." Anders grimaced as he stopped the SUV and quickly stepped out of it.

Mitchell sighed, the thought that he was way too used to this kind of situation wasn't exactly making him feel better. It was just like he had told Anders, no matter how hard he tried to be better or how far he away he ran, trouble would always follow him. After all, history always repeats itself and a curse, no matter how hard you try to control it, is always a curse.

The officer eyed the couple as they approached him with the best confused and scared expression they could sport.

The blond scowled at the policeman, perfectly acting like he was completely unaware of what was going on "What's happened here? My assistant phoned me telling me that police was looking for me and I seriously didn't think I was gonna find all this." he gestured around them.

The policeman raised a brow "I take it you're Anders Johnson." he threw Mitchell a glance "And you would be?"

The vampire was about to open his mouth to introduce himself somehow, but the god was quicker.

"He's my husband." the blond nodded, a straight expression painted on his face as he said so.

Mitchell's eyes widened as he stared down at Anders incredulous, and luckily enough the officer didn't see him.

"Husband?" the cop raised a brow "Funny, your neighbors said that you've spent the last weeks living with a woman." then he cocked his head towards the building "The woman whose body was found lifeless in your apartment."

Anders rocked on his heels, lips curving into a wicked smirk as Bragi took over "Officer, I need you to let me speak to your superiors. First of all, you're talking about my private life in public and I do not approve of it."

Mitchell heard the way Anders' voice had turned mellow and warm, he knew Bragi's power didn't work on supernatural creatures, but watching him in action was... Mesmerizing and kind of arousing, too.

"Second of all, the tragedy that has taken place in my apartment is something I was completely unaware of." the god cocked his head as he was nearly done speaking "So it would be better if you all cleared the area and took your investigation elsewhere. Find the real culprit." he finished with a nod of the head.

The policeman bit his lower lip as he struggled to hold back the laughing fit that threatened to abandon his throat any moment "Oh man, that was amazing, really! A great performance!" he said right before he bursted into laughter and clapped.

The couple stared at the cop puzzled for a few seconds, until Mitchell finally realized.

"How could I not-?" he groaned, throwing his head back "A vampire, of course!"

The blond scowled, looking up at his boyfriend "Bullshit!" then he glanced back at the policeman.

The cop grinned and his eyes turned black "Sorry about all the trouble." he shrugged then blinked his eyes back to their human appearance "But we were dying to meet the couple of the century!" he raised a piece of tape and gestured for Mitchell and Anders to walk under it. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

Mitchell's jaw was clenching so firmly that the bones creaked.

The god looked at him, worry written all over his face "Is it safe?" he whispered.

The brunet nodded and bent to walk under the tape, followed by an hesitating blond and the vampire policeman.

"We've wanted to meet you for so long, Mitchell. It's an honor for our community to have such a legend walking among us, in our very city of Auckland!" the officer started.

Mitchell didn't know if he wanted to start praising his evil deeds or his abstinence from blood, either ways he wanted to hear none of what the other vampire had to say. "Whatever, I'm not here to become a part of it." he said in a low tone as they made their way up the stairs and found the door of the flat cracked.

Anders had never been so passive and quiet in his life as he followed the two vampires into his home, shivering at the thought of finding it crowded with more vampires.

The officer pushed the door open to reveal a body bag on the now perfectly clean floor "We know it was Herrick, we've been keeping an eye on him since he set foot in New Zealand." the vampire explained as he gestured for the couple to step inside.

Anders froze as he stared at the bag containing Helen's body and swallowed hard.

Mitchell glanced at him with knitted brows "You okay?" he asked concerned, his hand quickly moving to rest on the blond's shoulder.

"Is it the smell? We tried to make it go away, but it's a little hard to do so." the cop explained with a shrug.

The god grimaced and shook his head, eyes glued on the body bag "I... I am not comfortable with having a cadaver in my house. You gotta get it the fuck outta here or else I'm staying outside."

Mitchell glared at the policeman "Do as he says." his voice was firm and imperative, and his hand wasn't moving from his lover's shoulder.

The officer lowered his head in a clear sign of condescension, and a weird light flickered into his light green eyes before he turned on his heels and went to fetch the other vampires to have them remove Helen's body from the floor.

Anders and Mitchell exchanged looks, they were both confused and the god was still worried, but at the same time felt reassured by the vampire's glances and touches. The blond was safe with him, his lover would never let anyone lay a finger on him, especially not after the night before.

They had managed to step into the house and get comfortable into the kitchen, of course Mitchell had glared at Helen's flat rearrangements, but it wasn't exactly the time to move furniture around, nor to burn pillows, curtains and horrible mats.

Anders was feeling a little less anxious now that the corpse was gone and the only two vampires who were still in his house were his boyfriend and the officer. There was still something weighing on his mind, though, something that bothered him greatly "I'd really like to know how the hell did you get into my house, if you're all vampires. How did you let yourselves in?" he squinted at the cop sitting by his table.

The policeman eyed him, an amused smirk playing on his lips "The person you need to blame for our intrusion would be the housemaid, she's the one who found Miss Larvig in a puddle of blood, this morning." then he cocked a brow "Oh, and just now I remember that she told me to tell you that she quit." he added with a nod.

Mitchell scrunched his face as he squinted over at Anders "Housemaid?"

The god rolled his eyes "Told you she made lots of changes." he glared around the house "She was really trying to control me and everything else."

The brunet pursed his lips and moved to the fridge to grab a bottle of beer "Right." he handed it to Anders, gesturing towards his own broken arm to make him understand that he couldn't uncap it.

The blond smirked and uncapped the bottle before handing it back to his boyfriend.

"Thanks." Mitchell looked over at the cop who was studying them silently, so the brunet figured that they needed to change subject and avoid giving him any more personal information. He leaned an elbow on the island and knitted his brows together "I've never seen so many vampires work into the same unit before. Yesterday I've been taken to the hospital by a group of three, today there were four vampires in my house." Mitchell began as he swigged at his lager.

The policeman had removed his hat and placed it on the dining table, he rubbed a hand over his dirty blond hair and looked up at the brunet "When vamp crimes are committed, here in Auckland we like to keep it all in the family. No humans need to witness anything that concerns our world." he explained with a shrug.

Mitchell's eyebrows rose as he pulled the bottle away from his lips "Unless you're feeding from them, then it's perfectly fine to involve them." he mocked him with a nod.

Anders hid his smirk behind the glass of vodka he had poured himself to soothe his nerves.

"Not everyone can be like you, Mr Mitchell." the cop spread his arms "We need blood to be strong, to keep our kind well." then he cocked his head "How is abstinence working for you, anyway?"

Mitchell rolled his eyes at the usual same old same old about the importance of blood and the strength of the vampire kind. However his brows did crease at the question "I am just fine." he mumbled with a shrug of his good shoulder. Of course he had nightmares, every now and then, especially during the days in which he'd been apart from Anders, and sometimes the hunger would kick in for a brief part of the day, but he had managed to cope.

The officer snorted, but before he could say anything Anders cut him off.

"You know, you talk a lot, you ask loads of questions, you know our names, you're sitting at our dining table, yet you still haven't introduced yourself." the god licked his lips and took a sip of vodka.

The brunet smiled softly at his boyfriend, mentally thanking him for keeping the other vampire from poking his nose further into Mitchell's life.

The policeman pursed his lips "Fair enough," he ran his fingers briefly through his hair and then laced his fingers together over the table "I'm Noah Wallace, head vampire of Auckland vampires." he smirked over at the god.

A fake impressed expression played on Anders' face as he nodded deeply and gulped down a large sip of Fenrir "So you're going to tell us that vampires are going to take over Auckland and that you want to destroy every other supernatural being that will get in your way and shit?"

Mitchell smirked over at his boyfriend, then took a huge swig of beer as his eyes went back to Noah.

The blond vampire shrugged "Not exactly." he looked down at his hat and took it in his hands, running his fingers over it absentmindedly as he looked back up at the god "We're quite the neutral kind of vampires when it comes to this sort of things." he gestured casually to Mitchell as he went on "We'd rather leave those dreams of world domination to the eager ones."

The brunet scowled "I couldn't care less about taking over the world." he scoffed, feeling mischarged, and went back to glue his lips to the cold bottle.

Noah rolled his eyes "Not you, your English fellow was." he deadpanned, annoyed by having to actually explain himself.

Anders glared at Wallace and finished off his vodka "So what do you want from us? Why the fuck are you still here?" he growled and slammed the empty glass a little too hard on the smooth surface of the island.

Both vampires whipped their heads in his direction, not exactly startled but definitely surprised.

"We're seeking for some sort of a deal." he tossed simply, as if he was speaking of the weather, and earned a couple of puzzled looks. "We're gonna need you Norse Gods to never interfere with our business. Don't try to fight us, don't try to stop us from killing and feeding, don't stand in our way and we'll keep at distance." he spoke clearly, not wanting the others to fire more stupid questions at him.

Anders folded his arms across his chest "We have no reason to fight you, unless one of you causes harm to one of us gods." he carefully kept the whole Frigg business to himself, since he didn't know if the Auckland vampires were aware of that situation.

The brunet had nearly opened his mouth to voice his opinion but it was like Wallace already knew what he was going to say and promptly cut him off.

"We need one more thing from you, though." green eyes wandered from the Norse god to the vampire "Don't try to make any of my people go clean, I will not appreciate that." he pointed a threatening finger at him "Don't be the vampire Jesus, don't try to save anyone, no vampire needs salvation. We just need fresh blood and no one to come knocking on our doors with stakes and torches."

Mitchell set the bottle of beer on the island "It's always so amusing to see how you all think that vampirism is a blessing." he shook his head, an ironic smirk curling his lips "But that's how the gene works when is fed by the blood of innocent people."

The officer scoffed and threw his head back "Oh please, spare me your morality!" he groaned "That's how vampires work and I want my people to be strong and well fed. Unlike you," he paused with a smirk to stand up and put his hat back on "you're hungry and weak, I can see it in your eyes. Do you think you'll be able to go on like this for much longer?"

Mitchell's eyes widened and his nostrils flared, he felt Anders' gaze boring his skull but forced himself not to glance back at him "I know exactly how I feel. I am perfectly fine," he raised his brows "and I'm only hungry for food, not blood. I can control it." he didn't know who he was trying to convince, exactly. Was it Noah, Anders or himself? Probably all three, but he needed to sound as confident as he could if he wanted to keep staying lapsed.

Anders stepped closer to the cop, nothing good could come from the turn the conversation had taken, and Mitchell's reaction had started worrying him. "I think it's about time you left, Mr Wallace. We let you stay here for far too long." he managed to be extremely polite, no matter how annoyed he was, but he figured that insulting a powerful vampire wasn't the smartest thing to do, not so soon after Herrick.

The policeman pursed his lips as he glanced at the god "Yes, I should. I have more important matters to take care of." he flashed Mitchell a smirk "Good luck."

The brunet limited himself to only clench his jaw and glare at him, keeping silent.

Anders gestured towards the front door "Yeah, he's lucky. Farewell." he hurried the blond vampire as he saw him out.

When the door shut and Anders locked it up – just to be sure – Mitchell let out a heavy sigh and sunk to the floor "Does it ever end?" he mumbled to himself as he rested his head back against the wall.

The blond stared at him quietly, arms folding across his chest as he studied his boyfriend with knitted eyebrows.

The vampire cocked a brow and squinted at him "What?" he asked, confused by the way he was being looked at.

The god's expression didn't change, not even for a moment "Is it true?" he began "Are you hungry?" he inquired, head tilting to the side "Or should I say thirsty, perhaps?"

Mitchell scoffed "Anders, I'm fine!" he shrugged his healthy shoulder "I'm just a little worn out from last night, still. That's all."

Anders shoved his hands down his pockets "Are you sure you're okay? Because your wounds from last night are still pretty much all there." he had just noticed it, he was way too used to see small injuries fade away from his boyfriend's skin in the blink of an eye, but that hadn't been the case.

The vampire looked down "They'll be gone soon, don't worry." fighting with Herrick had drained most of his strength and he really couldn't deny that not feeding had weakened him.

"Are you sure you can survive without blood, like... Forever?" the god's voice was still hard, but the hint of worry was clear in his tone "Do you actually know of any vampire that has gone all the way clean and is still alive?"

The brunet raised his gaze on Anders but quickly averted it, unable to look at his boyfriend in the eye "There was a vampire I used to live with, he was the first person to ever help me go clean." he began, his memory traveling back to years and years before "It didn't work for me at the time, but I wasn't motivated enough." he shrugged.

Anders didn't like the way his boyfriend was avoiding his gaze, but he didn't say anything about it, just yet. "I guess he had a motivation, then?" he tilted his head.

Mitchell nodded, looking down at his lap "Love. He had – still has, I s'pose – a human lover whom he never fed from." he explained, picking at his jeans as he spoke "He kept himself human for his beloved."

The blond's eyes widened slightly at the answer, a light shade of pink colored his cheeks as he cleared his throat and squared his shoulder trying to play cool "I see." he nodded.

The vampire eventually looked up at Anders, his boyish smile playing on his lips softly "I have my motivation, too, now."

The god rolled his eyes, failing to bite back a smirk "Guess you're right." he held out a hand for Mitchell and helped him up.

The vampire clasped his fingers around his boyfriend's hand and stood up. He cupped the back of Anders' neck and pulled him into a soft kiss "I've been away from you for too long, this is why I'm so weak. You're the one who makes me stronger." he whispered, lips brushing against the god's.

The blond grinned "You didn't have the power of my sex to keep you good." he pecked at the brunet's lips "I refuse to leave our bedroom for all the time you got off from work." he fingered at the belt-loops of the vampire's jeans, tugging on them slightly.

Mitchell rolled his eyes, amused "I knew you were gonna make this about sex." he grinned.

Anders raised his brows "Well, you did promise me that I could ride you into oblivion as soon as we were gonna be done with the cops." he bit his lower lip and nodded slowly.

The brunet grimaced "We need to get rid of all the horrible stuff Helen brought here, first." he took a look around and literally cringed at the sight of all the tacky nick-knacks scattered around the flat.

"What?!" the god scowled "Not right now, it's gonna take ages to do so." his fingers quickly moved to rest on the zipper of the vampire's jeans "I wanna do it now."

Mitchell glanced down at his boyfriend's hands, then cocked his head in the direction of the bedroom "Can we at least tear off the sheets you slept in with her, from our bed?" he asked with a creased eyebrow.

The blond grinned victorious "Deal." he groped his boyfriend's groin "I'll take care of you in a bit, Dracula Jr."

Mitchell didn't even have the time to gasp or moan because he was already laughing too hard at Anders' nickname.

–

Anders wasn't lying when he said that he wanted to spend Mitchell's injury leave into their bedroom, but the vampire did push him to at least go to work for some hours every day, even if the god had moaned and whined. The brunet didn't want JPR to fail for the sake of sex, no matter how mind-blowingly amazing it was.

They always ate indoors, occasionally going out to shop for some groceries, but then they were back in the house in a heartbeat to go back to their love making, only stopping to go to the bathroom and eat when their stomachs began to growl.

During those days they cut everyone out, Anders didn't want to see his relatives – especially Mike – and Mitchell was more than okay with that, even if he had promised Ty that he would have made himself useful on the quest to find Frigg, but they had preferred to be selfish and spend some well deserved time alone.

They had also managed to fix the apartment, moving back all the furniture to were it belonged, making sure to get rid of everything Helen had bought or just left there, and of course they had to celebrate their home returning to normal by having sex on every piece of furniture they found comfortable enough.

But even during that blissful time of pure fun and luxuriation, Mitchell's withdrawals came knocking on the door, ruining his sleep and sometimes, even his and the god's most intimate moments. Also, Anders' theory on Mitchell's healing factor being weaker, just like the rest of the vampire's body, had been accurate since the broken arm had actually taken nearly four days to heal properly.

The hunger and the withdrawals effects had got outstandingly bad after Dawn had swung by at their place to leave Anders some important documents, one day. The vampire had done his best to control his hunger, but around two or three in the morning, after a particularly rough and intense night of sex, Mitchell began to toss and turn around the bed, his body starting to shake with shivers.

"Mitchell..." Anders mumbled with his eyes firmly shut "What're you doin'?" he grimaced "It's like sharing a bed with a trout."

The vampire moaned and curled up in a ball, both arms wrapping around his stomach as he tried to soothe the sudden cramps.

The god woke up instantly, sitting up and flicking the lights on "John!" he placed a hand on the brunet's shoulder "John, what is it? Is it the withdrawals?" he tried to keep calm, or else he wouldn't have been of any help to his boyfriend.

The brunet howled in pain and clasped a hand firmly around the blond's wrist "Fuck! It's like my guts are ripping apart!" he cried loudly, toes curling under the blankets and skin quickly covering in sweat.

Anders' nostrils flared as he pulled his boyfriend to rest his head in his lap "Shh, shh, shh, shh. It's gonna be fine, it's gonna be just fine." he spoke quietly and wiped some sweat off Mitchell's brow before starting to stroke his hair soothingly. That was the worst crisis the vampire had ever had since they had started dating, and the god knew that there wasn't much he could do besides waiting for the sickness to be over.

Mitchell squeezed his eyes shut, his arms were still pressing against his stomach as he groaned. Tears began streaming down to his ears, as he was still laying with his head on Anders' lap, he blinked his eyes opened and looked up at the god "I-I think I'm gonna throw up." he muttered as a violent shiver rattled his weary body.

The blond furrowed his brows and nodded "I'll go get the bucket, eh?" he dried the vampire's tears and dipped his head to capture his lips in a soft kiss.

The brunet nodded before rolling off the god's lap and on his side, bringing his knees to his chest as he tried to push away all the images of his past victims that his mind was producing.

Anders came back in a matter of moments and sat down on the bed holding the bucket between his knees "I'm here, John." he ran his fingers through damp, unruly curls.

Mitchell shifted on his knees with a huff and a soft cry, he gripped the bucket tightly with both hands and gulped as he looked at his boyfriend "I-I can see them again." he sniffled "Their terrified expressions, I can hear them scream in my ears!" he sobbed and shook his head.

The blond cupped his lover's cheeks and pulled him in to press their brows together "John, you need to calm down. Focus. You're not gonna hurt anyone, it's just a bad, bad moment. Alright?" his voice was soft but assertive.

The vampire let his eyes drop shut and nodded slowly as his body was still shuddering and his stomach felt like it was about to turn upside down. He sucked in a shaky breath, one of the many breaths that he didn't really need to suck in, and ducked his head to retch into the bucket.

Anders held back the brunet's hair with one hand and used the other to stroke the nape of his neck and his back all the while. "Good boy, let it all out." he glanced up at the ceiling for a moment, taking in a sharp breath. He felt Mitchell's back stiffening under his hand as he threw up and looked down at him, pursing his lips. There had been a thought haunting him lately, ever since the withdrawals had started getting worse, and seeing the horrible state of his boyfriend only convinced him that it was the right time to say it out loud. "Y'know, maybe you should try and have some of my blood." his voice was merely a mumble.

The vampire whipped his head up into the god's direction, eyes wide in horror "What was that?" he slurred, ignoring the sour taste in his mouth.

The blond cocked his head, gathering up his usual confidence "I am sure I can stop you, John." he began.

His boyfriend was already shaking his head "That's not even an option, don't be an idiot." he flared his nostrils, nearly outraged by the god's words, then finished emptying his stomach into the bucket.

The blond huffed "You've never even had god blood! Maybe... Maybe it's so powerful that you'll only need a couple sips!" he raised his brows.

The brunet glared up at him all over again "That's the point." he pressed, his voice hoarse "I don't know what it could do to me. What if I get so addicted to it that I kill you, your family and your whole race?" he snarled as his nostrils flared "No fucking way, I'd rather die than drink your blood." he shook his head "Don't ever mention it again, yeah?" he grimaced and bit his lower lip as another cramp gnawed at his insides, making him groan.

Anders licked his lips as he watched him writhing in pain "You're too weak, John." he ran his fingers through Mitchell's curls, softly. "Just..." he bit his lower lip "C'mon, you'll feel better." he sighed.

The vampire flinched "I said no!" he growled with both hands still pressed against his stomach "I'm feeling better, already." he lied, he knew that the crisis was probably going to last for another good hour or so.

"I'm not scared of you, I know you won't kill me." the blond's eyes bored into the brunet's as he spoke.

Mitchell tipped his chin up, eyes rolling into their sockets as he nearly yelled "Well you should be scared!" he huffed "I'm a monster, Anders. A monster who could definitely kill you in the blink of an eye." he clenched his jaw and then looked away "I hurt too many people, and a week ago you nearly died because of me." he mumbled.

The god caught the vampire's chin in his hand and pulled at it so that he was looking back into his eyes "We're both monsters, John. I'm a god, we're not supposed to even exist, yet here we are." he shrugged "I just want you to be alright, and I'm sure that your heart won't let you do anything bad to me."

Even if Bragi's powers didn't work on Mitchell, Anders was a natural with words, especially when it came to their relationship. He gulped and looked down, licking his chapped lips "Don't keep me so close, my breath stinks." he muttered.

Anders rolled his eyes and let go of him "Dipshit."

The brunet glanced at him "I'm too scared, Anders." he shook his head "I'll just... Bear with it. I need to be strong."

The blond pursed his lips and nodded "Okay." he stood up and grabbed the bucket "Can I flush all this?"

Mitchell nodded faintly.

The god moved to the bathroom to get rid of the contents of the vampire's stomach. When he came back with a glass of water, a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, along with the now clean bucket, he found the brunet all curled up under the sheets with hooded eyes, making him smile fondly "Cramps?"

Mitchell grimaced "Yeah, but not as excruciating as earlier." he slowly sat up and reached his hands out to the PR.

Anders sat on the mattress and handed him all he needed to get rid of the stench and horrible taste in his mouth. He watched him brushing his teeth slowly and lazily, clearly worn out "You think we can go back to sleep?" he scratched the back of his own head and stretched out a bit.

The vampire shrugged and spat into the bucket "We can try." he rinsed his mouth and spat again "I feel like shit." he whined and put the bucket down on the floor, then set everything else on his nightstand.

"Do you want me to spoon you and rub your stomach all better?" the blond teased with a smirk.

The brunet would have chuckled if his insides allowed him, so he just settled for a weak, goofy smile "I'd love that." he flopped back on the mattress and turned on his other side.

Anders grinned and ducked his head "Wait." he pressed his lips against the vampire's, his tongue nudging at them softly.

Mitchell smirked as he parted his lips and deepened the kiss right away. Unfortunately he pulled back soon, a groan escaping his throat as he felt a sharp pain in his guts "Bloody fuck." he growled lowly.

The blond slid under the covers with him, huddling closer and wrapping his body around his boyfriend's "Poor thing." he placed an open-mouthed kiss on the nape of his neck, then started stroking his stomach. He was extremely tempted to give something else a stroke, but he refrained from doing so, knowing that Mitchell was too ill for another round.

"Lil' Bragi is poking me." the vampire voice was faint, but his amusement could still be recognized in his tone. "Are you that happy to be spooning me?"

The rumble of Anders' laugh vibrated against the brunet's back "Yeah, can't be helped." he let his eyes fall shut, his hand still massaged the vampire's abdomen.

"It's okay." he smirked with his eyes closed. His stomach was still torturing him, but sleep was winning through. "G'night... Hopefully." he muttered.

The blond pressed his nose between his lover's shoulders "Night." he breathed out as he tried to mentally convince himself that Mitchell was going to be okay. He tried to empty his mind, but every kind of bad thought started pouring into his brain.

What if Mitchell's body couldn't cope with the lack of proper nutrition?  
What if the vampire snapped and went on a blood binge?  
What if the hunger got so out of control that Mitchell actually killed him during the night?  
Nonsense, he knew that the brunet could never kill him.  
Luckily enough his brain began to slowly shut down, even if his boyfriend's body was still imperceptibly shuddering in pain, and started drifting off.

* * *

It was the crack of dawn when Anders' cellphone went off, or at least to him it felt like it was. Mitchell had woken up at least three more times, after they went to sleep, his stomach was still wrecked by cramps and he actually threw up twice before his bowels gave him a break and let him really rest.

"T'fuck..." was all he could mutter as he pressed his nose into the crook of his boyfriend's neck, huddling closer to him.

The brunet groaned and wrapped both arms around the god, holding him tightly to his chest "T-turn it off." he grimaced with his eyes still shut as he buried his face into golden locks.

Anders huffed and blindly reached his arm back to search for the God forsaken mobile, after he nearly dropped it, he decided to break the warm and cozy embrace and turn on his back.

"Rude." Mitchell mumbled when the blond pulled back, so he slung an arm over his boyfriend's waist and rested his head on his chest, continuing to sleep.

The god smirked at the grumpy and groggy vampire, then glared at the screen of his cellphone "Mike? What the fuck does he want from me?" he flared his nostrils and refused the call, placing his iPhone back on the nightstand.

The brunet sighed "You should have answered him."

Anders scoffed "Screw him." he ran his fingers through Mitchell's hair "How are you feeling?" he asked softly, a hint of worry constantly in his tone.

The vampire shifted a little and rested his chin on the god's chest "I'm fine, I guess." he shrugged, then cocked his head with a small smirk "Worried?"

The blond rolled his eyes "Of course not. Why should I be?"

The brunet pushed his lower lip out and shrugged "Well, you were pretty out of your mind last night, asking me stupid things and all, y'know?"

Anders pursed his lips "I don't know what you're talking about." he smirked slightly, then his phone started vibrating again "Oh please."

It was Mitchell who grabbed the mobile, this time "Maybe it's important." he looked at the screen "It's Mike, again. You should take it." he handed him the phone.

The god huffed "Shit." he took the cellphone in his hand and answered "What?"

"What _? You disappear for more than an entire week and you ask_ me _what?"_

The blond rolled his eyes "It's not like we live on two different planets, you know? What do you want?"

Mitchell pressed a soft kiss on his boyfriend's chest as he watched him talk on the phone.

" _Oh you know, same old same old. Turns out that there are Māori Gods who are on a quest that is pretty much like ours, a_ dwarf _and a freaking_ giant _told me that apparently Gaia is actually 20,still and that she's most likely to become Frigg_ or _the Māori Goddess Papatuanuku, once she'll turn 21. No big deal, not at all."_

Anders widened his eyes, his brain overflowing with too much important information "What?!" he scowled "Wait. Gaia like, Axl's flatmate? The girl he's fancied since like... Forever? Frigg?"

" _Yes, Anders._ Gaia _."_

He exchanged an incredulous look with his boyfriend "Bullshit..." he blinked, then knitted his brows "But wait, how can there be two prophecies regarding the same person? How do we know whether goddess she's supposed to become?"

" _I have no fucking idea, since both our oracles never know shit about any fucking thing that happens to us."_

The blond rolled his eyes "Right..."

" _But she's turning 21 tomorrow, so we'll hold a ceremony and we'll see what happens. We can only hope."_

"Fucking tomorrow, Mike?" he growled "Couldn't have told me earlier?"

" _Well I didn't wanna ruin your hermitage, you know?"_

Anders flared his nostrils "Fuck you, Mike."

" _See you tomorrow."_

"Wait, wait, wait! Can Mitchell come? He's not human." he smirked down at the vampire who returned him the same expression.

" _Gods only."_

"C'mon, Mike. He's not human  _and_  he's my man."

The vampire grinned and leaned in to press his lips against the god's.

" _He could stay home with Ty, since he's not a god anymore."_

Anders froze with his lower lip still between his boyfriend's teeth.

" _Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that."_

"You guess?" Anders growled "What the fuck?"

" _You've been very busy screwing your boyfriend and hating on our brother to care about what was up with him."_

"Well, he never wanted to be Hod, so as long as he's happy everything's alright." he shrugged as he looked at Mitchell's confused expression.

" _He betrayed us, he turned his back on the family."_

"Spare me the lecture, Mike. We'll see you tomorrow." he hung up on his older brother before he could add anything else.

"Ty is mortal?" the vampire blinked.

"Apparently he found a way to get rid of the soul of Hod." the blond shrugged.

"God, I feel like it's my fault... I pushed him to do whatever he could to be with Dawn." he dropped his head on his lover's chest, making him huff.

Anders scowled, forgetting about the Frigg situation because his curiosity was stronger in that moment "You did? When?"

Mitchell raised his head and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment "The night I fought Herrick, I made him promise that no matter what was gonna happen, he needed to be with the woman he loves, because it was the most important thing." he shrugged.

The god's lips curled in a smug smirk "Really? Aren't you a romantic little shit." he tapped a finger on the tip of the brunet's nose.

The vampire pretended to bite off his boyfriend's index "You're supposed to be, too. You're the god of poetry, after all." he grinned, then his eyes widened in excitement "And tomorrow you could become immortal and more powerful!"

Anders rolled his yes "Yeah, if Gaia doesn't become the Māori Frigg instead." he sighed "These prophecies are such a pain in the arse." he sunk back under the covers.

Mitchell's brows knitted as he thought "Should I dress nicely tomorrow? Because I definitely don't have suits or anything."

The god pursed his lips and shrugged "Nah, you're fine. You could come naked for all I care."

The vampire raised his brows "Oh really? You're ready to share, then?"

The blond scoffed "Fuck no, this is private property." he reached a hand down to graze between his boyfriend's legs.

The brunet shivered softly and laughed "Then I'll dress all in black, just to be a little classier."

Anders bit his lower lip "Mm, then I'll have to fuck you up against a tree."

Mitchell grinned "Sounds like a plan..." he said softly before kissing the god deeply.

* * * 

The couple had a problem with waking up in time, the morning after, not only because they had spent yet another entire evening making love, but also because Mitchell had another crisis during the night. Not even half as bad as the previous one, but still he didn't feel good and threw up a few times. Anders hadn't offered him his blood, that time, but he was still thinking about it, and he was really hoping that Gaia was going to become Frigg.

"Do you understand that if I become immortal and I get my full powers you could definitely feed on my blood without killing me, and I'd be able to stop you with the power of my words, no matter what?" Anders pointed out as he knotted his tie.

Mitchell was running his gel coated fingers through his wild hair and froze at his words. He hadn't thought about that possibility, but still he was reluctant at the idea of drinking his lover's blood. "I still don't think that's safe, Anders." he muttered and went back to try and fix his curls, those were the moments in which he really missed being able to look at himself in a mirror.

The god straightened his jacket and then moved to help the vampire with his hair "God, you're fucking stubborn."

The brunet snorted "That's rich coming from you."

"Oi!" the blond tugged sharply on a dark lock, furrowing his brows.

"Ow!" Mitchell squeezed an eye shut.

Anders brushed his hands together as he looked up into his boyfriend's eyes "Think about it, though, yeah?"

The vampire rolled his eyes "Fine, I will." he said only to shut the god up.

When they arrived in the clearing where the ceremony was going to be held, the Johnsons, minus Ty, were all there with the goddesses and, apparently, the Māori gods.

"Who are they?" Mitchell asked in a whisper as they began to walk towards the crowded spot by the lake. There were a couple of people that he didn't know: a tall, wavy haired brunette who seemed to be in her forties or something, and a younger, short blonde that was wearing thick black eyeshadow.

"Oh, those are Ingrid and Stacey." Anders said distractedly.

"How come I've never met them?" the vampire cocked a brow.

"'Cause they're kinda slutty and I wanted to keep you all to myself?" the blond smirked as he looked up at him.

"Oh, c'mon." the brunet shoved him softly.

"I don't know, it's not like I hang out with them all the time. Now you'll get to know them." Anders shrugged and then put on his infamous mocking smile as he looked upon the gods "Well, aren't you a delightful sight."

Stacey, Ingrid and the Māori gods stared at Mitchell who broke into a sheepish smile.

"Is this another one of you Norse Gods?" one of the Māori asked.

"Not really, but he's not a mortal, so it's fine." Anders waved a hand and then stuffed it back into his pocket.

Ingrid furrowed her brows "This should be strictly between gods!" she protested.

Stacey pursed her lips "He's nice to look at, he can stay."

Michelle rolled her eyes and ignored the vampire completely.

"It's fine, Ingrid. He's part of the family." Axl explained with a nod. "He's Mitchell, we told you about him." he added in a lower voice.

"Well, so are Zeb and Ty, but they're not gods. That's why they're not here!" the oracle kept on complaining.

Mike clenched his jaw just hearing his now mortal brother's name, Olaf noticed it but refrained from doing or saying anything. He knew that Mikkel was mad at him too since he had been there when Tyrone lost his godly powers behind his brothers' backs.

"Can we just get this over with? Please?" Gaia finally spoke up and everyone stared at her.

Ingrid sighed, shooting one last glare at Mitchell and Anders "Fine..."

The ceremony began with Ingrid walking Gaia into the dirty looking water of the lake until they were knee deep into it, while Michelle lazily tossed rose petals at them from a plastic bag. The oracle dipped the young girl into the lake and held her in place until a glowing green aura floated towards them and was absorbed by Gaia's body. The young goddess stood back up, turning around slowly, she carefully started walking out of the lake and up on the small hill with the help of Axl and Jerome – vessel of the Māori God Maui, the equivalent of Odin for the Norse Gods – who were both grinning in excitement and anticipation.

"And behold, a new goddess walks among us." Ingrid smiled as she followed right behind her.

But Gaia wasn't looking at her Odin, nor even at her Maui, she was staring insistently at someone else. She walked past Axl and Jerome, reaching the very back of the small group of expectant people until she got on her knees and bowed her head to a very confused Anders.

"W-What?" the blond blinked, eyes wandering from Mitchell to the rest of the gods, then back down at Gaia.

Everyone was scowling, just as puzzled as Anders was.

The girl looked back up at him "My Lord Bragi. It is I, Idunn." she smiled "I have returned. I am yours."

Anders' eyes widened and automatically shot up in the direction of the youngest of his brothers, then focused briefly on the vampire.

"What the hell just happened?!" Axl panicked as he turned to Ingrid.

"Oh. Oh! The constant goddess." she pinched the bridge of her nose. "We cannot exist without an Idunn and since the other one has been killed, you know... She kind of..." the goddess cocked her head "Jumped the queue."

There was a choir of curses, moans and cries as everyone rolled their eyes or threw their heads back, while the Māori Gods left the clearing mumbling, disappointed and angry.

Anders just stared down at the girl who was still kneeling in front of him, an expectant look in her eyes. That had to be a joke, and a bad one, too.

"My Lord?" Gaia asked, cocking her head.

The blond shook his head "No, just- No." he held up his left hand and pointed at the ring that was still wrapped around his finger from the moment his boyfriend gave it to him "I'm married and I like cock, eh? There's just no way this is happening to me all over again." he shook his head again "Just no fucking way!" he growled and glanced at Mitchell.

The vampire stared at him with knitted brows, flared nostrils and a firmly clenched jaw. Rage was slowly building up inside him as he balled his hands into fists, but tried to keep calm as he looked into Anders' pale blue eyes.

This just couldn't be happening all over again, not when everything was finally fixed between them, and especially not now that Mitchell needed Anders the most.

Anders flared his nostrils "We're out of here." he grabbed Mitchell by his wrist "Let's go." he cocked his head towards the woods and they both quickly left the clearing under the hard looks of the other gods and goddesses.

"But my Lord!" she cried.

Ingrid grabbed her by her shoulders and held her back "Just let him go, for now." the oracle rubbed her hands up and down over the girl's arms, trying to comfort her.

That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all.

_* * *_

"Idunn? Motherfucking Idunn,  _again_?" Anders barked as he violently yanked the door of the SUV open. "I'm not gonna have another person trying to bind me to her will, that's something  _I_  should be doing, for fuck's sake!"

Mitchell placed a hand on his shoulder "I don't think you should be driving, not in this state." he spoke softly as he tried to soothe him.

The god growled and walked to the other side of the car, climbing inside and struggling to buckle himself because of how tense he was. "Fuck you too, belt!" he snarled and gave up.

The vampire got into the SUV himself, then calmly helped his boyfriend with the belt buckle. He was terrified of going through hell again because of Idunn, and could already feel the ghost of the withdrawals ready to torment him. He knew how it worked, as soon as he let his guard down the hunger and cramps would creep back and make him writhe in agony, but Mitchell's will needed to win through in order to help Anders.

"I'm telling you, Mitchell...  _This_  is my curse." the blond cried, furious. "This stupid attraction between gods and goddesses is bullshit! Complete bullshit!"

Mitchell grabbed his boyfriend's face, forcing him to stop rambling and just look at him in the eyes "Anders, listen to me. We'll get through this, alright?" he licked his own lips "I love you, and I'm not letting you slip through my fingers again."

The god let his eyes drop shut as he tried to take as many deep breaths as he could. He loathed being vulnerable to the point that it made him nauseous, it was too out of character for him. He loved Mitchell, as much as he didn't like to openly admit it, and he certainly didn't want to go back to how it was when Helen stepped between them.

"We already know that it just can't work between Bragi and Idunn, and that's a good thing. All we gotta do is make sure to keep her away from you." the vampire went on as he stroked his lover's cheeks with both thumbs.

Anders opened his eyes but looked away, his anger was gradually disappearing as he listened to his boyfriend speak.

"I'm gonna save you from your curse just like you're saving me from mine." Mitchell shrugged "Do you think we could make this work?"

The god looked at him "She's not even my type." he made a face. Of course changing subject and joking about the situation would make him feel less helpless and more like himself.

The brunet rolled his eyes "Anders..."

The blond sighed "Yes, John." he nodded "I guess we'll spend the rest of our days trying to save one another from this fucking mad world." he muttered.

Mitchell smiled softly "Isn't it the whole point of being together?"

Anders arched a brow "I guess?"

The vampire shoved him playfully and pretended to be offended.

The god smirked and wrapped a hand around the back of the brunet's neck "Come here, my hero." he pressed his lips against his boyfriend's.

"Arsehole." Mitchell mumbled before kissing him back, slowly and lovingly. He felt a sharp pain to his stomach and managed not to flinch or moan, he needed to be the strong one in that moment, he needed to suck it up and be the pillar of strength that Anders needed.

They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, completely forgetting about the world around them, ignoring their problems. Nothing mattered but the way their lips slotted perfectly together, how Mitchell's hands seemed to be made for holding Anders', how their tongues fought restlessly for dominance yet none of them ever won, how they were the only persons who could soothe and contain each other.

"Anders..." the vampire whispered when the god pulled back, gasping for air.

The blond sucked in a deep breath and rested his brow against the brunet's "Yeah?"

"It's the second time you've referred to me as your husband, what's up with that?" Mitchell chuckled softly.

Anders shrugged "It's only convenient." he explained, still struggling to steady his breathing.

The brunet smiled softly and nodded "Alright."

The blond huffed "Listen, don't make me tell you that I love you again, alright? You know that I don't like that."

Mitchell pulled back with a laugh "But you just said that!" he pointed out, his trademark boyish grin playing on his lips.

Anders only rolled his eyes "Let's just get outta here, okay?" he cocked his head in the general direction of the lake "Before reality chases us and punches us in the balls." he added with a sigh.  
Staying away from Gaia or trying to keep her away wasn't going to be an easy task, not now that Idunn was alive and kicking inside her. He was sure that everyone was going to blame the vampire all over again for messing with the prophecy, after all it was Herrick who had killed Helen and Herrick only had only come into the picture because of Mitchell. Not to mention how his brother Axl was surely going to hate him and be furious because not only he had lost the chance to become the real Odin, but he had lost the girl of his dreams to Anders.

But then again, wasn't that whole situation a curse?

The brunet stole another kiss from his boyfriend "Fair enough." he buckled himself and started up the SUV, driving off in the direction of the road.  
Mitchell knew that there was no point in wrenching those three words from Anders because he was aware of how much of a hard time he always had with them, but at the same time he perfectly knew that the blond's feelings were real.

So there they were, the lapsed vampire and the rebellious god, both turning their backs on their races, refusing to do what they were actually supposed to and trying to make their own destiny together, for better or worse.

 

_**THE END.** _


End file.
